What Unusual Halflives we Lead
by History101
Summary: When an Ancient power threatens our favourite half-ghosts will they be able to look past their differences and work as a team, or will their stubbornness destroy them both? Some bad language, fights, blood and ectoplasm! A Danny - Vlad Father/Son fic.
1. The Unexpected Arrives Early

**What Unusual halflives we lead**

Chapter 1: The Unexpected Arrives Early

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><p>You ever woken up in the morning with a strange sense of foreboding? Maybe you're familiar with that moment when something important that was previously forgotten re-emerges and the realisation suddenly hits you like a ton of bricks or cinder blocks dropped from the heavens purely to spite you? Such was the ominous feeling that greeted young Daniel James Fenton one Friday morning. Technically speaking it was a school day, and if he would have taken the trouble to remember he was now running 23 minutes and 46 seconds late...but he hadn't. When he did eventually condescend to the possibility of getting out of bed he stumbled into the bathroom and made himself mostly presentable, then threw on his jeans and his shirt as he continued to stagger down the stairs.<p>

"Morning Danny-boy" he heard his father shout, unaffected, as usual by the early hour, as he sat at the table in his usual orange jumpsuit. Around the kitchen table sat his sister Jazz, reading one of her many books, this particular choice was entitled '_How self-proclaimed female geniuses should assert themselves in the modern world.' _His mother, he gathered was attempting to beat the waffle iron into submission, again, using the patented _Fenton Anti-creep stick, _and then his eyes fell on another figure reading the newspaper, which he found odd because they didn't get the paper delivered anymore. His dad used to and still thought that the paper boy was a ghost and had tried to get him with the_Fenton Extractor_ or the _Fenton Foamer_, the results hadn't been pretty.

Who else was there in the family to grace their table? His sleepy brain refused to co-operate so he paid little attention.

"Morning, guys," he yawned, "What'd the waffle iron do this time, mom?' he asked, a strange question for some families, perhaps, but not for this one, while he prepared a few rounds of toast, hopefully the toaster was still operational.

"Well," she began, only half listening as she continued her violent ministrations, "it refused to help me generate protons, so I decided to give it a little Fenton persuasion." She finished cheerfully.

"Uh-huh" he replied, "right."

"Don't you want to know what I'm doing kiddo?" Jack asked happily.

"Sure, why not?" Danny muttered biting his toast.

"Sure, why not - I am a ghost fear me!" sounded a computer generated voice.

"Huh" Jack muttered, "I still don't know why it likes you so much, it keeps doin' that to Vladdie too."

"No kidding?" replied his son, and of course the _New and Improved Ghost Gabber_ said; "No Kidding – BOO!" and Danny sighed.

"_Sigh – _BOO!"

"Maybe you should give that thing a rest dad," Jazz said from behind her book, "all this repetition isn't helping my concentration."

"Alright, Jazzy, but I still don't get it." He threw the infernal contraption into the living room with a look of defeat and the device landed mercilessly with a _thud_.

"Hey Danny, aren't you forgetting something?" asked Jazz as she turned her attention to her brother, who had given her a look of thanks as he took a bite of his toast.

"Uh…er…yea…no…maybe?" he intelligently replied, and his sister sighed heavily turning back to her book.

As his brain began the slow process of waking itself up he recounted the people at the table, and his eyes rested on the fourth figure in the room, a man in a black suit, with white hair reading a paper with an amused expression. "VLAD!" he shouted, dropping the remnants of his toast and tripping over the leg of a chair as he approached the man. "Ah…" he muttered, lying on the floor rubbing his aching side which was still sore from what were soon becoming his routine his midnight fight with Skulker, who apparently didn't care for clocks. "This is not a good day." He whispered low enough for his family to miss, but high enough for Vlad's enhanced ghostly senses. He pulled himself up and glared at his arch-enemy.

"Now, Daniel really, if you wake up with that attitude of course the day will be a disappointment." The older hybrid smiled and turned a page in his paper.

"What's that, V-man?" Jack asked, working on yet another invention at the table.

"Nothing, Jack." Vlad replied, turning his attention to Daniel, and was less than impressed to see that the boy was a complete mess. He had a new scar running from his neck and presumably under his shirt, his eyes were tired and barely focused, Vlad could clearly see a stained bandage peeking out from under the shirt that had come loose from his fall, but the boy, noticing this, tucked it away and continued to glare. And, if it were possible he looked like he had lost 10 pounds he couldn't afford to lose, the overall effect prompted concern from the older hybrid - naturally it was well hidden concern.

Jazz of course had noticed her little brothers' state and was furious, but with their parents in the room she said nothing, Danny would not thank her for it, so she would berate him later after checking his wounds of course.

"What's HE doing here?" Danny asked with barely controlled anger.

"Now Danny, don't get so worked up," Maddie smiled, she was finished with the waffle iron and lowered her goggles.

Jack meanwhile was still hammering his new toy; "V-man was just passing through and decided to pay us a visit, right Vladdie?" he smiled.

"Yes, you know how much I enjoy visiting your family, Jack." Vlad replied, folding up his newspaper and sipping his tea.

"Uh-huh." Danny muttered, "Almost as much as I love late night ghost fights, and sneak-attacks," and Vlad grinned.

"What's that, sweetie?" his mother asked with a look of concern.

"Nothing, mom," he replied with a forced smile, "I…er…I'm goin' out…" he said as he rubbed his neck for a half-decent excuse to leave the house.

"Danny," Jazz began in an exasperated tone, "It's Friday, y'know as in fri-day, fri-day." She stressed the word.

"What about fri…day…" he began as his sister pointed to the corner of the room where he bag lay, with his books popping out…his school bag…and his school books. "Oh…crap…" he face-palmed.

"Danny…language…" his mother reprimanded as he ran out of the room and up the stairs where he hurried to throw on his shoes, and tied his laces while all but falling down the stairs, he grabbed his phone as it began to ring on the living room table.

"Danny, dude," he heard Tucker shout, "You better answer this phone or else I'll tell the whole school about that camping trip in kindergarten when you…" thinking it best to interrupt his friend sooner rather than later he replied; "I know okay, I'm coming…so I forgot about school…s'not the end of the world."

Their phone conversation was so loud it was heard from the kitchen, Vlad was stood leaning on the doorframe, unnoticed, as Danny held the phone by his ear, and pulled off his bandages from under his shirt, "Well you better hurry," Tucker said, of course with enhanced senses Vlad heard the whole conversation. Sam chose now to add in her four cents; "You know Prickly's out for tardy blood…more specifically **your** tardy ecto-blood if you don't get your but in here…like now…" Sam shouted.

"Don't shout in _my_ ear, man; shout in the phone…at Danny!" Tucker shouted back, and Danny sighed.

"Alright, alright," the boy replied, pulling the zip closed on his bag and tossing it over his shoulder.

"We got gym today, remember," came the reply, Danny visibly deflated, and subconsciously held his healing ribs.

"Maybe I'll skip then, I don't think I can manage it today," he sighed, "or tomorrow." He added.

"Not good, dude, you gotta come in we got English too…" Tucker said sadly, "I'll keep you awake, okay…"

"Fine, fine…gimme a minute…"

"See you dude." Tucker replied quietly, his voiced laced with worry.

With that he closed the phone and threw it half-heartedly onto the sofa, and transformed into his ghostly counter-part with a moan of pain, he glanced at his mid-section and sighed, "Yup…another great day…" he muttered, and turning his head he saw Vlad, looking at him with an odd expression he couldn't place. He didn't have the energy to send him the usual green eyed glare of hate, so he just stared. While the man stared back with…concern… from Vlad? Impossible. Humour…at seeing him so weak, it was possible, anything was possible when Vlad was involved. With one last glance he flew out of the building and into the sky, why did he care anyway, Vlad was weird, he just was. It was no different from why the sky was blue or the grass was green, Vlad was weird. With that tone of finality he flew towards the school, morphed and ran to class.


	2. Consequences Of Unfortunate Runins

A.N. I think in one episode Tucker said their school ran from 7.30 to 3.30, what a bummer. I decided to try to write a school scene rather than just ignore it all together, because as all students know, whether we like it or not, school takes up a large part of our lives!

(Also, for the sake of my universe this story is set after D-stabilised but before Phantom Planet, so that makes Danny about 15 nearly 16, and also for this story Jazz is in University and is home for the holidays, do you call Uni College in America?)

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><p><strong>What Unnusual halflives we lead <strong>

Chapter 2: Consequences Of Unfortunate Runins

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><p>Running through the abandoned corridors, or as best as he could with his injury, his head continually turned from right to left, avoiding anyone, especially Mr Prickly. The man had been dubbed the 'wanna-be hall monitor' the only perk from the self-appointed job he received was an overcrowded detention class at the end of each day, and Danny was his favourite pupil, with Valarie an obvious close second.<p>

As a relatively new edition to the schools already wonderful teaching staff it was hoped by the students that at least one normal human being would grace their education. But of course, they were sorely mistaken, Mr Prickly or the Prick, as the students nicknamed him, (and let's be honest they didn't need to be creative to come up with that one) was obsessed with punctuality, cleanliness and appearance. He was a tall, well-muscled man with a proud full head of black hair which he always brushed back and wore dress pants and a white button down shirt. This produced the overall effect of a funeral director with an unfortunate name and a complex with said name.

"Fenton!" the Pricks loud ominous voice wailed, like a bell tolling Danny's demise, "Front and centre." The flamboyant clicking of his shiny black shoes rebounded on the vinyl composition tiles until he stood behind the boy. "Late again, boy…nasty 'abit; lateness," he stared down at Danny and continued, "Be so good as to tell me the time, Fenton."

Danny sighed in resignation and frustration as he turned to gaze at the clock on the opposing wall. A new addition of the crazy dude who now stood before him was a compulsory clock in every corner, corridor and classroom that rang simultaneously every hour without fail. "7.55," he replied quietly.

"7.55…what?"

"7.55, sir," he ground angrily through his teeth, as his anger quickly resurfaced from its slumber he tried desperately to keep his eyes their usual blue, and not waste this dude, maybe a teeny tiny ecto-blast wouldn't hurt, just to wipe that smug smile from his face.

"Oh, then why aren't you in class, young man?"

"…I…overslept…" Danny muttered without breaking eye contact. He had learned from his numerous ghost fights that to do so was a sign of weakness, and there was not one person in school who could out stare him. But so far this man was proving a new and unwanted exception, he just wouldn't back down.

"What was that, kid?" Prickly asked keeping his own grey eyes locked with Danny's azure ones with an amused expression on his face. Danny was almost convinced from his first encounter with this man that he and Vlad were somehow related, it was just too weird.

"I overslept…sir…" Danny muttered, and scowled when the man's smile grew.

"Oh dear, oh dear, well, that's another detention then," Prickly turned and began to walk away, "anyone would think you had something better to do with your time, Mr Fenton."

"Says the Prick," Danny muttered, spun on his heels and opened the door to Lancer's English class.

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><p>As usual the whole class ceased its highly imperative discussion as Danny entered the room and took his seat in front of Tucker and Sam, who shot him sympathetic looks as Lancer frowned.<p>

"As I was saying," he said, with his usual air of _'what I say is far more important' _"your assignments will be based on Othello, due in after the holidays." He pointed to the board and on it he began to write the characters of the play. "You need to read the whole of act one and tell me what you learn about each of the characters, while I grade these essays." He concluded and sat at his desk, picked up a pen and they took that as their cue to work, or in this case talk.

"So, what happened?" Tucker immediately asked Danny who was slouched over his desk in both lethargy and frustration. Sam looked over and noticed his tired eyes as he pulled the book from his bag.

"The usual: Skulker doesn't share the Pricks love of 'time management'," he poorly copied the teacher's voice, "so I was up at 1 in the morning and I got thrown through 3 brick walls. 3! All at the same time," Danny sighed, "and to top it all of I woke up this morning and the fruit loop was in our kitchen, _our kitchen_, what gives? And my dad's new _Ghost Gabber _'likes' me," he quoted with his fingers, "and I have another detention, which means as soon as I get home it'll be 'Danny, why are you always late' or 'Danny, why can't you be more like Jazz and show a little interest in your school work.' Man, my half-life reeks." He concluded and rested his head on the table ignoring the strange looks from his class mates at this point and gazed longingly out the window. Maybe he'd skip the rest of the day and just go flying, yeah, that was a good idea.

"Dude, that's rough," Tucker replied, "er…we could always tell your parents you came to my house…"

"Nah…they'd only find out anyway…and they'll probably just end up blowing another huge hole in your house just to ask you what we were doing, or why I didn't call them, or…you get the idea…" He muttered.

With that they made a start on their work; however Danny soon gave up and continued to stare with glassy eyes at the sky outside. It was a cloudy day but the sun's rays occasionally shone through the murky monotony and onto the ground below. It wasn't the best weather to end the school term on but beggars can't be choosers, as the saying goes, and a few weeks off from school was a cause for both celebration and some much needed rest. Not that the ghosts he knew and fought thought the same way.

He'd been thinking about flying over to Florida, more specifically to the NASA Space Centre, it'd be easy with his new top speed of over 300 mph. Just to look at the rockets, and maybe get a glimpse of the new photos he'd read about on-line of the fabled 'Planet X.' It was thought to lie beyond Neptune that scientist had been searching for since the 1990's. **(*1)**

Having been into space, as few teenagers can boast, it merely encouraged him to want to see more of it. His small telescope on his roof allowed him to plot the close constellations around Amity Park, but it wasn't nearly strong enough to try anything serious. He didn't have the money to buy anything that scientific, and he daren't ask his parents, just thinking about how much one would cost gave him a migraine.

The English work on Othello he was meant to be doing was nothing compared to the beauty of the planets and stars that had for so long fascinated him. And he wondered how others failed to appreciate it as he did. Tucker and Sam often stayed up late at night with him on the rooftop of _Fenton Works_ but though they found it interesting, he didn't think they were as captivated as he was, was there something wrong with him? Duh! Ghost powers, ghost hunters for parents and a strange unexplainable space obsession, yup there was seriously something wrong with him. Why did he even bother to ask such a stupid question?

By the end of the class there was a loud shuffling of papers and bags, and scraping chairs as the students practically ran out of the room. The crowded corridors offered more loud noises and voices which told of happy plans for the half-term break (not sure what you'd call it in the US.) Family outings, concerts and general lazing-around-doing-nothing days were, as always the most popular among the teenagers.

"**Don't forget my huge party Sunday night,"** Paulina shouted through her megaphone adding further disruption to the existing chaos, **"it's gonna be fab!"** she smiled, **"Don't bother if you're not invited."** She added as a pleasant afterthought.

"Great, just what we need…another cool party which we're not invited to…again!" Tucker moaned as they made their way to the science lab.

"Oh no, we'll miss another stupid Paulina party, whatever will we do?" Sam replied her voice laced with sarcasm. This of course was lost on Tucker as he was too distraught to notice.

"I know, it's just so not cool, according to my calculations," he said looking down at his PDA, "we've missed…like…20 parties over the whole course of high school, which makes us the school life equivalent of…"

"Amoeba's…" Sam suggested.

"I was gonna say pond life, but that works too," Danny added with a smile.

"**Oh…if anyone sees the Ghost boy tell him he's invited to my party," **Paulina's loud voice interrupted **"he just has to come."**

"Well, at least half of you is invited." Sam laughed.

"Too bad it the wrong half," Danny moaned with a long drawn out sigh as they swarmed into the science lab with the other students and took their seats, rallying themselves for two lessons on ionisation.

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><p>After the first half of the day passed uneventfully Danny and his friends sat down with their dinner trays and odd expressions. "Isn't there usually a ghost, or two, or three that likes to get us at school, what gives man?" Tuck whispered, taking an enthusiastic bite of his burger.<p>

"I'm not complaining," Sam replied and Danny nodded in agreement, "it's been so long since we've had a ghost free day that I forgot what it was like…i'ts really, really boring."

"No…it's not, I need a break, now stop talking about it or you'll jinx us," Danny said after finishing his soda.

"Fentina!" a brash, angry voice shouted, and Danny winced. "A ghost free day's not all I need." He muttered and glanced over to the quarterback who now resembled an angry bull in a china shop, unfortunately for Danny he was the china. The overcrowded cafeteria offered little shelter as everyone shied away from the advancing bull.

Dash marched over to the table and scowled down at Danny. "Guess what happened to me today?"

"Err…you decided not to beat me up?" Danny replied with false hope.

"NO! I got detention, because you were late, we were waiting for YOU, so we were late too!"

"How is that my fault?" Danny demanded as Dash hoisted him up by the front of his shirt.

"You can't blame that on Danny," Sam shouted, "you were only gonna wail on him anyway, and you're doing that now!"

"Shut up, Sam," Danny muttered.

"Your _girlfriend_ makes a good suggestion," Dash began.

"She's not my…" Danny shouted.

"…not his girlfriend…" Sam finished standing up in anger.

"…I wasn't gonna wail on you, I just wanted you to do my time for me, but now I'm gonna wail on you good!"

"Great…" Danny sighed and thinking fast he wriggled out of Dash's death grip on his shirt, with the added help of his ghost powers ran at superhuman speed from the cafeteria with Dash and his cronies following him.

"You just had to say it didn't you, Tuck,' Sam sighed as she sat back down.

"Don't look at me, man, I said ghost, not quarterback." He replied pointing at her with a salt laden French fry which promptly went into his mouth.

"We better go find him," Sam suggested, but Tucker made no move to get up as he continued to eat his chips.

"Nah, dude'll be fine, we only got gym remember, and he'll probably skip it anyway…maybe I should skip it too."

"No, you shouldn't, and Danny can't afford to miss any more school, I'm gonna go look for him…you just…wait here…"

"No problem." He replied, now finished with his own food, he made a start on Danny's fries, Sam sighed and ran off.

She searched the corridors and several empty classrooms without success, tried his mobile, also a failure, and made her way outside. It was raining quite heavily, and as she stood in the doorway several first years ran past her using their jackets and bags to protect against the rain. Scanning the yard as best she could she eventually notice Danny sitting on a tree branch in one of the few tall trees in the schools vicinity. Disregarding the weather she walked over to the tree and leaned against the huge trunk. "You gonna skip?" she asked after a minute, and look up at him. He had his arms wrapped round his legs and was staring straight ahead at the school.

"Nah…I don't need to be in even more trouble than I already am," he quietly replied with a hint of pathos.

"Good, you don't need to miss any more school than you already have either," she smiled.

"Hmm," was all he said, and they heard the bell ring that signified the end of lunch, and his favourite lesson: gym.

"Come on, we'd better go," she said sadly, he floated down from the tree and they made their way into the school. After making sure no-one was looking he held her shoulder and turned them both intangible so that the rain fell from them and onto the floor. "Ghost powers have their perks." He merely smiled at her as they walked through the gathering crowd.

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><p>A.N So what do you think, I'm still not sure about a few things in this one but it had to be done? The second half of the day will be in the next chapter.<p>

Reviews please, kind people.

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><p><strong>(*1)<strong> If there are any space nerds out there, I read a little about Planet X, and my little world is completely fictional, I tried to make it sound realistic, but since we don't know if it even exists yet don't hold me to anything.


	3. Parents Can Scare the Shit Outta You

A.N. Sorry people only just remembered about the Disclaimer; so in case you didn't already know I do not, and will never own Danny Phantom, if I did it wouldn't have been cancelled.

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><p><strong>What Unusual halflives we lead<strong>

Chapter 3: Parents Can Scare the Shit Outta You

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><p>Gym class. Need anymore be said? The bane of many students school lives: to embarrass yourself in front of the entire class and for the rumours to come and bite you in the ass. For Danny it was worse. Over the last few years he had gotten more than physically fit, with constant ghost fights and his powers to figure out he was more than a match for anything <em>that <em>class could throw at him. However he could never show just how good he was because it would provoke suspicion. If he was suddenly the star of gym class, if he could suddenly be the schools best black belt, or the best acrobat, sprinter or weightlifter someone would surely notice. Right?

Of course his grades had improved in gym recently, he wasn't the best, but he wasn't the worst either, and that was good enough for him. That was what he kept repeating in his mind as they were seriously put through their paces by Coach Tetslaff. They'd already run several laps round the track, done 20 minutes of push-up and sit-ups, now they were taking turns doing pull-ups. Apparently they were recording how much they had improved over the term despite the pervious protests of the students of it being the last day of term, a quiet gym lesson to finish the day off was not on her to-do list. Fantastic.

"Come on, come on, kids lets pick up the pace," she shouted, enthusiastically clapping her hands and glancing at the timer in her right hand. "Next two, move it, move it."

"Anyone'd think we were running an army training drill," Tucker moaned as he slowly hauled himself into his first pull-up. His limbs screaming in protest as he tried for another one. Sam and Danny found it far easier than he did, but said nothing as they waited for him to finish. "For all intents and purposes, we are." Danny agreed wiping the sweat from his brow, he had had no real problem with the pace of the class, the exercises were tame compared to his 'extra-curricular' activities. But he was hampered by his fatigue and the need to keep his abilities unnoticed.

After the last people finished their round of pull-ups it was time for, "Basketball, alright two team's people, I don't care if it's boys vs. girls or, whatever, just do it quick." Tetslaff said running over to the equipment room, grabbing a basketball and tossing it into the crowd of teenagers; Dash caught it and immediately proclaimed him-self a captain while Sam took the opposing role, much to Paulina and Star's dismay.

The teams were divided quickly and the game began, it mainly ended up between the two captains, with the others getting in the way. After many had given up and were slouched on the side-lines Danny took pity on Sam, although to be fair she had been doing fairly well against the two quarterbacks. Danny applied him-self to the game, not too much though, and he and Sam were soon acting as the dream-team, despite Danny's handicap. They passed and dodged through Kwan and Dash laughing at the surprised looks on their faces. After they won they high-fived, giving Dash matching looks of victory. "No way, you lovebirds did not just beat me at basketball!" Dash shouted pointing angrily at them from across the court, "Rematch, now!" he demanded.

"We're not…" they shouted simultaneously.

"No time, Baxter," Tetslaff interrupted, "times up, get going kids."

"Rematch, Manson," Dash muttered as the class made their way to the changing rooms.

"Definitely," Sam agreed, "Then we can humiliate you again."

Dash growled in response, "Next Wednesday, the court in the park, me and Kwan…and you two lovebirds."

"We'll be there." Sam growled back too angry to give the usual reply to his nickname for them, instead she dragged Danny away from Dash by the arm as she stormed away.

"What…did you just…did you just involve me in some kind of death-basketball rematch…against Kwan and Dash?" Danny asked with vexation.

"Oh come on Danny, don't deny you had as much fun as I did beating Dash at his own game, well, at basketball anyway, and compared to fighting ghosts it's hardly lethal." She huffed, and he silently agreed, "Alright, alright, I'll come to your stupid rematch." He muttered.

Tucker finally caught up with them dragging him-self back slowly like a defeated soldier from battle. Danny took one of his arms round his shoulders and Sam took the other and together they climbed the stairs that lead from the gym. After changing they filed out of the school with the other students, thankful that the last day of term was at an end.

Thankful it was still raining the three of them stood in outside, letting the cool droplets trickle down their skin and soak their clothing.

They walked to an empty corner of the grounds when Tucker asked "Can we go now? My PDA can only take so much water before it malfunctions!" in response Danny morphed into Phantom, held his friends arms and took off into the sky.

"So, wanna come over to mine and watch '_Cyber Invasion of Doom'_?" Sam asked as they flew through the streets, invisible to everyone below.

"Maybe another night, Sam, I'm gonna get started on this homework, make the most of a ghost free day," Danny replied, "plus, with the fruit loop at my house who knows what he's planning…"

"Want us to help you watch him?" Tuck asked.

"No, it's fine, you two watch the movie, I couldn't concentrate anyway," he muttered, "and I have that detention to do." Danny sighed.

"We could have walked y'know." Sam said as Danny landed behind her house.

"I don't mind, really," he said and with a smile took off at top speed back to the school and into the boy's toilets. He morphed and made his way to Prickly's classroom.

"Ah, Fenton, glad you could join us, and here I was thinking you weren't going to show." The teacher smiled as Danny took what was fast becoming his seat in the detention class. Dash sat across from him glaring at him. Great, two people in the school that hate him, all he'd need would be for them to team up against him. They sat in silence for 5 minutes when Prickly looked up from his desk. "You know the drill, 6 sides of paper." He said and turned back to his book. With that the students began writing out the same sentence, 'I will not be late' over and over again.

When Danny was finished after another 20 minutes he left the papers on Prickly's desk and turned to leave, "Remember Fenton, Wednesday." Dash whispered to him, Danny nodded and left the room. He looked around and noticing no-one he morphed and flew away.

He decided to circle the city, though what he'd told Sam and Tuck was partly true he didn't go home immediately. He wanted time to think, so at speeds of over 300 mph he flew round buildings and houses, skimming the tree tops and passing through the rain clouds. The fact that Vlad was at his house irked him to no end, if he couldn't be safe at home where could be? Though he supposed he really wasn't; his parents wanted to tear half of him apart 'molecule by molecule' and Vlad wanted to tear all of him apart. His half- life was seriously messed up, he concluded.

By now the sky had begun to darken and the street lights shone brightly illuminating his snow white hair and toxic neon eyes as he sat upon what was probably the highest point in the city. Atop the radio broadcasting tower he could see every person, every cat and dog in the streets. A while ago he had discovered a type of enhanced sight, he could already see in the dark but now he could distinguish between living things, each person had an individual glow, like a ghostly aura, at first he thought it was something that reflected a person's personality, like magic. But he'd since discovered that it showed the health of the person; their physical state, and often peaked when they felt high emotions, he wondered if his did the same. He could tell if a person was sick, or healthy or even dying, that hadn't been a pleasant experience.

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><p><em>When visiting the hospital after his dad blew up an experiment in the lab, nothing serious, but Jack had to have a few stitches on his arm. Danny had been walking round the building when he noticed an old man, lying in a bed. A nurse, for some reason had informed him that the man's name was Victor, he was a war veteran and they weren't holding out much hope for a recovery. The man died in front of him while the doctors tried to resuscitate him, when he noticed the change in the aura. He could see them even when he was human, and at first he hated it. Now he could control it with ease it, like a light switch he could turn it off and on, it wasn't so bad anymore. Once he had learned to stop telling people they would develop a cold or even the slightest cough, people forgot about it. But his dad still asked him frequently to predict his weekly health for him; they just thought he was a lucky guesser. He hoped.<em>

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><p>After another flight round the city he flew towards his house and entered as Danny Fenton, tossing his bag on the floor beside the door. His parents came in from the kitchen as he said "I was…"<p>

"…at Sam's," Jazz finished, "she called, how was the movie?" she asked. She was sat on the sofa a book on the table and on the television was clearly a documentary or other. Vlad, of course still had to be there, sitting in a chair drinking wine and turned from the TV to look at him.

"Yeah, it was good." He answered with a small smile.

"Your school called," Maddie frowned, and Danny moaned, he didn't think they bothered anymore. Bummer. "Another detention…every day for the last week, and the week before that…what have you been doing, young man?" she demanded, and his father brandished a stick of fudge at him like a weapon when he looked to him for help. But upon Maddie's death glare that warned Jack of any interference he replied; "Danny…listen to your mother," and went back into the kitchen munching his fudge.

"I…just…"

"No more excuses, Danny, tell me the truth." She replied angrily, "I'm sorry about this Vlad, but I…" she looked over at him apologetically. Most guests would have taken this as their cue to leave, but not Vlad, he just love torturing Danny, so he sent a quiet snarl Vlad's way, knowing he'd hear it.

"Not a problem, my dear Maddie, all young boys have their troubles, after all I'm sure he has his reasons." He smirked, "Right, Daniel?"

"Err…hey…" Jazz said hoping to provide a distraction, "Danny, there's something about the Hubble space telescope on TV…you err…you wanna watch it?"

Grateful for the effort Danny looked over at her as she flicked the channel over and images of the telescope in question emerged. "Sure…I…" but winced as his mother frowned.

"Jasmine," Maddie shouted, appalled at her usually responsible daughter, "what is wrong with you…your brother's had more detentions in this last month than your fathers eaten fudge, he's missed curfew almost every night, and you're suggesting he watches television?"

Little did she know he'd missed his curfew every night, she just saw one of his duplicates in his room at night whenever she came to check on him. If he could he'd send one to school every morning while he rested, or send one out to fight ghosts while he came home, like a dutiful young son, before his curfew. But it didn't work like that, the power was too complicated, and he still couldn't hold them for extended periods of time. It would be disastrous if it started acting weird or spacing out because he lost his control for even a millisecond. It wasn't worth the risk, at least not until he could control the power with more confidence.

"I just think you're overreacting, mom, Danny's still a teenager, maybe he's having _teenage _problems…or…"

"Hello, I am still here, y'know, I can hear e-very word…and _IT. HAS. NOTHING. TO. DO. WITH. PUBERTY!"_ Danny cried, sick of having to explain the same thing over and over as he waved his hands in the air hoping to gain their attention. Seriously what was it with people and thinking that everything was to do with puberty, Jazz could have used a better excuse; she knew how much _that_ one irritated him. Much to Vlad's amusement he was reminded of himself every time he shouted to Daniel that he refused to get a cat or try internet dating.

"…maybe he just needs some space, psychologists say," Jazz continued, "that parents who shout at their children for repeatedly misbehaving only do it all the more because of their pride, so if you give Danny a chance I'm sure he'd…" despite Jazz best efforts their mother was having none of it, she wanted answers and she wanted them now.

"Enough Jasmine, go upstairs and let me talk to your brother," Maddie replied, breaking Jazz off mid-rant.

"But, mom…you…"

"Now, Jazz!" at this Jazz threw her brother an apologetic look as she turned away and left the room, Danny smiled in understanding at her. She'd tried her best, even though she had used the stupid puberty card, there was only so many times you could play that and get away with it. Now he was paying for it, it was full house to Maddie, and Danny had nothing to give for her win. He'd just have to think fast, no problem. With a crazed up fruit loop watching his every move from across the room, no clever sister to back him up or friends to corroborate his movements, no dad to provide a distraction, and no ghosts to fight…oh yeah, he was most definitely, well and truly screwed. Crap, crap and triple crap. Not very creative or helpful perhaps, but it made him feel slightly better, he though with a smile.

Which, unfortunately his mother caught and advanced on him further, her hands on her hips and that terrifying mothering scowl that adults seem to develop upon becoming parents was in full force. "Daniel James Fenton…you think this is funny?" She shouted.

Oh boy, the full name, if it was possible things just got ten times worse, "…what…no…I…" Danny stuttered, and his head shot around the room looking for an escape, only to remember that this wasn't a ghost fight, his mom could be just as scary as Skulker on a bad day, or Plasmius on a good one.

"Well, I'm waiting, Danny where have you been all week?"

"Well…I…err…what like every day…" he rubbed the back of his neck, talk about awkward moments.

"Yes, every day Danny, why are you late for school? Why do you miss curfew? What do you do all night that is so important?"

"Well, I was late today cuz…err…I forgot it was Friday…I slept in…no big deal…"

"No big deal!" she repeated, Danny muttered; "Oh boy," and Vlad sipped his wine.

"Eureka…hey, Maddie, guess what…I just fixed the _Fenton Fan_," Jack ran in the room shouting and brandishing an ordinary looking electric fan with the word _Fenton_ on it. "Err…bad time?" he suggested looking around the room; the tension was so think you cut slice a _Fenton knife _through it and serve it on your _Fenton toast._

"Bad time," Maddie agreed, "Jack sit down, Danny was just about to tell us where he's been all week."

"Really, cool, I just figured he'd been at his spook-ooky friend's house," Jack smiled, once more making bat ears on his head as he did whenever he mentioned Sam.

"It's 'Sam' dad, not 'Spooky-ooky', and second…" Danny began, but his mother cut across him.

"You've been at Sam's all week then?" Maddie shouted furiously.

"What…no…it's not…she's not…we're not…" he pointed at the door then at himself with a sigh.

"Great job, Danny, play it cool, and you got yourself a girlfriend," Jack smiled and gave his son the thumbs up.

"_SHE'S. NOT. MY. GIRLFRIEND!" _Danny yelled, once again he was sick of explaining this to people, what made it worse was he knew he was beginning to sound like Vlad, always shouting the same thing over and over again.

"So…it's not puberty…Sam's not your girlfriend, you've not been at her house. And you've not been anywhere?" Maddie replied calmly, "Right?"

"What?" Danny replied, and he immediately turned his face away from them, he could feel his eyes glow green in frustration. Why couldn't they just go back in the lab and make things to rip apart his ghost half, rather than pester his human half with questions he couldn't answer.

"Look at us when we're talking to you, young man." His mother continued, but this time he cut across her.

"No. I want answers too. Like what's Vlad doing here? Why the sudden interest in how I choose to spend my time? Why…"

"Danny…" Maddie sighed, "Vlad is here because he is visiting, I'm sorry to have to say that I didn't want him to see this, but we're worried about you. You don't tell us anything anymore, and you're embarrassing yourself in front of a guest."

Danny let out a quiet snort of laughter, "Right…me embarrass myself in front of _Vlad_…sure mom…"

"What's that supposed to mean? Look…I know you don't exactly get along with Vlad, but he's our oldest friend, and we'd appreciate it if you at least tried to…"

"Look, it's not my fault okay…_he's_ the one who always…" he caught himself, cursing his anger and his stupid mouth, why couldn't he stop while he was ahead? Stupid, stupid…bad Danny.

"He…who…Vladdie?" Jack pointing at his old college friend and the two laughed together.

"…No dad…school…Prick…ly…he's the one who keeps looking for m…us when we go into school, he loves putting kids in detention…it not always my fault…" he tried to correct himself, but he had a feeling it was too late.

"That's not going to wash this time, Danny," Maddie scolded.

"But it's the truth…it's like he's always out for my ec…my blood…he's like a blood hound, it's seriously creepy…"

"Danny, I'm disappointed…I thought you would at least tell me something…"

Usually that would have killed him, not that it didn't still hurt, but it was like he was used to disappointing people, especially his parents, but he was too used to lying to them that it was a hard habit to break. For almost 2 years he'd lied to them, he knew he was a bad son, but he couldn't break the cycle, he was too far gone, he knew that. "Goodnight, Danny," she sighed, all her prior anger deflated as he heard himself dismissed form the conversation.

"Mom…I…" for the millionth, billionth, trillionth time he considered just telling them, it was just a few simple words _Mom, Dad, guess what…I'm a ghost…_y'know the one you want to rip apart molecule by molecule…yup that's me. Yeah, real smooth, _Ghost boy_. "…'night…" he exhaled, and left the room, dragging his bag on the floor as he climbed the stairs.

"I just don't know what to do anymore," Maddie moaned as she flopped down onto the sofa beside her husband.

"Yeah, don't know what's wrong with Danny, Vladdie and he should be best friends, right V-man?" Jack asked, totally missing the point. Vlad raised an amused eyebrow and set down his empty wine glass.

"Perhaps I could talk to him for you," he suggested quietly, as though uninterested.

"I don't think Danny'd…" Maddie began, but Jack lit up.

"Really, V-man?"

"Of course, you know he might find it easier to talk to a stranger…"

"I don't know…" Maddie sighed tiredly.

"Why not, Maddie, we got nothing to lose." Jack announced happily and turned his attention to the television set.

"Excellent, it's settled then," Vlad smiled and left the two of them on the sofa; the hapless father and concerned mother.

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><p>A.N. So people what'd you think, good, bad, crap? Let me know. Next chapter: tones of foreshadowing and internal monologue? Fun huh?<p> 


	4. Trust is a Valuable Commodity

A.N. Once again I DO NOT OWN DANNY PHANTOM…

"…why oh why…it's not fair…" history101 cries in a corner and…anyway…heh heh…back to the story. "Hey…I am totally sane!"

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><p><strong>What Unusual halflives we lead<strong>

Chapter 4: Trust is a Valuable Commodity

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><p>Jack and Maddie were well and truly clueless when it came to Daniel's well-being, Vlad thought. He was the only one who could understand the boy, not his parents, his sister or his friends. Sure they could sympathise, but they couldn't understand. How could they, when they weren't half ghost themselves? It's easier for human parents to understand a human son, but not one who is half dead. He frowned as he climbed the stairs and peered into the boy's room. Of course it was a complete mess.<p>

Clothes were covering most of the floor space, there were books and charts everywhere, picking several of them up he gathered that they were maps of the constellations at different times; but he was not an expert so he left them on the bed. Daniel's school bag lay unopened at the foot of the bed, being a curious man he opened it and pulled out a battered copy of one of his favourite plays; Othello, a _Fenton Thermos_, several loose sheets of paper, pens, pencils and more charts of the solar system.

If he didn't know better he'd say the boy was obsessed. Ha. Of course he was, the solar system meant _freedom_, a freedom the boy didn't have here. He was constantly lying to his parents, living with school and a curfew that would take up most students waking lives, but he had two lives to lead and not enough time to live them. It was times like these that he found the boy both amusing, and a source of pity. Vlad didn't have this problem, he never had, he didn't view his ghost half and human half as separate, they both made him who he was. They made him Vladimir Masters, billionaire, businessman extraordinaire. Unfortunately the child didn't share his sentiments.

Daniel viewed himself as both Danny Fenton; the shy boy who was beaten up at school and had poor grades, and as Danny Phantom; the brave and powerful ghost hunter and protector of Amity Park. But they were the same person. He was, at the same time, powerful and shy, he was fearful of what his powers could do, lest he become Dan Phantom. Yes Vlad was well aware of this alternate timeline. He has been informed by his allies within the Observants. Initially it had surprised him to learn that not all of the cloaked Cyclops creatures were pretentious, pompous idiots, some were merely intelligent spirits…with an unfortunate job description. And then most of the others were indeed complete idiots with unfortunate job descriptions.

From above he could sense Daniel's ecto-signature, even when the child was in human form, however weak, Vlad was always able to locate him, he supposed one day Daniel would be able to do the same to him when he was strong enough. Vlad phased through the roof without morphing and landed noiselessly behind him.

"Go away, Vlad…I'm not in the mood to fight," Daniel said without turning around, and Vlad raised an elegant eyebrow as he walked over to the boy. He was sat on the very edge of the building, hunched over with his legs hanging off and his hands clutching the ledge. The older hybrid sat beside him and observed the boy as best he could without drawing Daniel's attention to the fact. All of his earlier anger and frustration had disappeared leaving behind the tired shell of a young boy who yearned for freedom, but was forced to settle for a trivial telescope on his roof, and numerous flights as a ghost around his city.

"Don't you even want to ask **me** what I'm doing here?" Vlad goaded, and hoped the boy would take the bait.

"Why bother, you won't tell me anyway…" came Danny's uninterested reply. And Vlad could sense no hint of a lie or falsehood in his features or body language. The boy was truly the most irritating and irksome person he had ever met in his entire life. Where was the sarcasm, the obstinacy, the…did he miss the boys…wit…No, not possible!

"Not even if it involves your family; your beautiful mother…your stupid oaf of a father…your…AHH" he yelled as a green ecto-blast shot from the boy's outstretched right palm. Vlad landed several metres away and hit one of the metal stands of the Ops-centre that was grounded on the roof of the building. At least it was a form of reaction, Vlad sighed as he pulled himself up. Daniel's hand resumed its former place on the edge of the building and his now green gaze moved from Vlad and back towards the darkening city.

"You deserved that," Danny said before Vlad could insult him, and he heard the man stand up and crack his neck.

"Hmm," Vlad muttered in silent agreement, he did rather ask for it, but it was the only way he could think of to get the child to listen to anything he said.

Danny was surprised when Vlad did nothing other than stand up and brush the dust from his crisp, black business suit like nothing had happened, why didn't he fight back like he always did? Vlad was always saying things about his parents, then Danny fought him and Vlad fought Danny. That was how things always went, why was he breaking their little game? Was it even a game? There had been times when he was **sure**Vlad hated him with every fibre of his being, and Danny had also hated Vlad. He knew Vlad was responsible for their initial rivalry; **he** had started the whole thing. He tried to kill Danny's dad for Christ's sake, what son wouldn't hate the man who attempted to humiliate and / or murder their father. His dad wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed but he was a good man, a good dad…a good friend even though Vlad didn't deserve one.

"I'm not…a very good son…am I?" Danny whispered, partially forgetting that Vlad was there with him, "…I'm a really bad liar too…so why haven't they figured it out yet?" he had no idea why he had just said that. It was a something that had been plaguing his mind for months now. But why say it at all to **Vlad**, of all people, why not his sister, Sam or Tucker, why Vlad? It didn't make any sense, it was annoying and confusing and he was not a happy camper!

Vlad stared down at the boy in shock. What was Daniel thinking? Voicing his thoughts to the man who they had both proclaimed to be his arch-nemesis…It was inexplicable. It was a sign of weakness. It was… endearing? He crouched down and sat beside the boy again. "You can hardly expect me to answer that, dear boy," he said with his usual sarcasm, but he watched closely for Daniel's reaction. The boy instantly deflated with a heavy sigh and turned to look at the man beside him. For all Vlad's uncharacteristic concern the man had come here with a somewhat selfish purpose, but the look that Daniel gave him pushed it to the back of his mind.

His expression belonged on the face of an old man who had seen every bad thing the world had to offer, it was the face of a soldier defeated in the course of battle and waiting to die, **not** of an almost 16 year old child with a hero complex. Perhaps the years of constant lies had caught up with him; perhaps it was because of his constant ghost fights and arguments with his parents. On either account he didn't comprehend their importance. He'd never had those problems; he didn't care about lying to people…anymore, he had left and was living on campus by the time had got his powers and never visited his parents since.

He had no one to argue with that was close to him because there was no one close to him to argue with, it was both a blessing and a curse. The child presumed he chose his solitude and in some respects he had, but it wore a man down over time, he supposed that was why he wanted a son so badly. Why he had attempted to clone the child before him and tried countless times to get Daniel to join him. But he was too old to change his ways now, it was too late, he was too far gone to change his outlook on life.

If only the two half ghosts were aware of how much they were alike, maybe things could be different, but unfortunately their obstinacy prevented anything of the sort. It is remarkable how meaningful moments can take up only a small part of our lives; a moment of peace between enemies for instance. They were the only two half-ghosts in the world, and yet their hatred for one another ran deep, but like beauty it was only skin deep and it relies on outward opinion. And fate has a funny way of changing things.

"Perhaps…given the circumstances…it would be best for you to…" Vlad stopped quietly, unsure of what he would tell the boy and why he should even bother.

"What…tell them…and say what…oh, oh sorry guys I've been lying to you for about 2 years, I'm part ghost and you've been trying to rip me apart every time you see me'" Danny huffed, "…'Hey, here's an idea, why don't you team up with your old college buddy and have a good old spot of Danny hunting'," he continued. "…'Hey, Jack lets dissect the ghost. No let's rip it apart and vaporise it for target practice'…" he mimicked his parent's voices.

"Don't be flippant, Daniel," Vlad reproached him, inwardly smiling at Danny's little rant, how could he not, it was hilarious.

"Why the hell am I even talking to you, you'd just help 'em anyway then you'd kill them for fun? Oh right you wouldn't kill my mom cuz you have a crush on her, which is still, by the way, really creepy…"

"Daniel…" Vlad sighed in annoyance, his amusement fading slightly.

"…so you'd just kill my dad, after you've all vaporised me or whatever, and marry my mom, and…whatever…Don't think so V-man…I'd rather…"

"Daniel…"

"…wait for Skulker, and Technus, and Walker and everyone else to beat the crap of me first, so if you want piece of me you better wait in line like a good little villain, and…"

"Why do I even…" Vlad muttered, and tried to tune out the boys little rant, hoping he would finish soon; otherwise he really would beat the crap out of him.

"…It's about as likely to happen as Box Lunch, which is still definitely, an; 'Eww' moment, so don't get any ideas about…" Danny paused, realising that Vlad didn't need to get any ideas because he'd just given him one, and most likely to **him** it was very appealing, so he face-palmed, and not for the first time muttered; "…man, this is so screwed up…" And as if realising fully for the first time he added, "What the hell are you doing here anyway?"

Vlad internally face-palmed, as the teenagers called it, and stared away from Daniel, a while ago he'd been trying to provoke such a reaction, now he was seriously questioning his sanity. Wasn't it better to have a depressed _quiet_ Danny, rather than a confused_ loud_ one? Daniel was right, this _was _seriously screwed up. What had he been thinking of coming up here in the first place? To look for Daniel and, what cheer him up? What did he care of the child's emotional state, it was neither helpful nor necessary to his dilemma right now. And that was no laughing matter, it was serious, and here he was wasting valuable time attempting to talk sense to an emotionally unstable adolescent who hated and distrusted him.

Though perhaps if he could change that they might survive this after all, maybe they didn't have to live with a sword of Damocles threatening them, he certainly wasn't keen on the idea. And he was sure Daniel wouldn't be either. If _he_ could act like nothing was bothering him and walk around like he still owned the place while inside he was scared shitless what would a Daniel do? He was well aware that Daniel had faced things that no child should ever have to deal with, but what would he do if he knew the truth? How long before he found out? True, the child was no idiot however much he called him one, but he still had much to learn.

"I know…I know, you don't care anyway, and you're not going to tell me anything, you came up here 'cuz you're bored and you wanted to beat the crap out of me. Am I right?" Daniel's dry voice broke him out of his solitary reverie as he morphed into his ghost half ready to dish out whatever crap was bound to come his way.

"No," Vlad replied with a hint of humour, "would you believe me if I said I came here to relive the glory days with your parents?" Danny just looked at him sardonically, "I thought not," Vlad added with an exaggerated sigh, "I'm devastated, Daniel, you don't trust me at all, do you?"

Danny just sat there staring at Vlad, he hadn't morphed or given any indication of why he was on the roof with him, let alone that he was in fact planning on beating the shit of him. But he had learned not to set too store much by appearances so re remained on high alert in ghost form.

"So…you didn't come here to beat me up? Who are you and what have you done with the real Vlad…not that I care, this is much nicer…" Danny replied.

"I'm afraid that the 'real Vlad' is preoccupied with more important things than beating you up, Daniel. I have other things in life to worry about and my day is not planned around testing my powers on you."

"You should teach Dash a thing or two…" Danny muttered.

"I shouldn't be so dismissive, dear boy, this affects you too,"

"What does…oh great, what've you done now, Plasmius, ticked off another Ghost King, maybe there's a Ghost Queen somewhere and you stole her magic tiara or…something…" he dismissed with a wave of his gloved hand.

"Why would I steal a tiara? Give me some credit Daniel, I steal things that are of some worth or of use to me."

"Like the Ghost Kings ring…or my parent's equipment…or…"

"Yes, yes…whatever…the point is I need you to tell me…"

"…hey even me…you kidnapped me too…that's kind of stealing… or, oh the Infi-map you stole that…" Danny remembered with a smile, that map was clever; it hadn't liked Vlad very much at the end of their little adventure. "Wow…Vladdie, you got a history of…"

"Daniel…quit acting so childish and listen for ONE minute!"

"Dude, seriously you need to ch…"

"_DO NOT TELL ME TO 'CHILL OUT_,' put your fowl puns aside for the moment, and listen to me,"

"Hey, don't…" Danny began, preparing to defend his witty banter to the last, but the furious look on Vlad's face convinced him otherwise. The man's eyes were glowing red and his fists were clenched tightly, he looked angry yes, but there was something else…desperation maybe…from Vlad…awkward much? "…right listening…err…that means you have to say something, V-man…"

Vlad sighed and was almost ready to give up and just fly away; he had always been well able to look after himself and his own interests. Unfortunately this time it was different, if that…thing…got to Daniel before he did…the results would be catastrophic; not only for the boy, but for him as well. "Hypothetically, Daniel…that means in theory…" he smiled down at the boy with a condescending smile,

"I know what it means, cheese-head…" Danny growled.

"Yes, you do now…anyway…hypothetically…what would you do if…for some unknown reason…because of what you are…you acted as a beacon for something that was looking for power and…"

"…what…are you asking me for…advice?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" Vlad shouted, "Do I look stupid?" Danny instantly opened his mouth to answer but Vlad held up his hand, "Do not answer that RHETORICAL question unless you have a VERY, VERY good answer."

"…err…err…no, sir?" Danny smiled sheepishly.

"Good answer," Vlad said approvingly and continued, "Now, a difficulty has arisen recently, and unfortunately it requires your…"

"…assistance…" Danny suggested.

"Not quite, Little Badger…more like your…attention…"

"Still can't admit that you're probably knee-deep in shit and you need my help, face it fruit-loop, I'm amazing, you're not and it's not gonna change." he sniggered.

"Must we always resort to name calling," Vlad breathed.

"You started it; I'm not the mascot of the Packers Vlad, stop calling me one," **(*1)**

"Not likely, now, back to business; this difficulty involves the both of us…have any of the ghosts been attacking you specifically more so than usual? Or acting even the slightest bit strange around you lately?"

"All of them attack me all of the time and the ghosts I know are about as weird as they come, what kind of a question was that?"

"Daniel…think about it, just for one moment imagine you have an intelligent mind that can think…"

"Hey…" Danny cried, "I do totally have a mind, and for your information I am totally smart, don't blame me, it's the ghosts fault that I have bad grades anyway not mine and I…" he broke off and remembered his frequent late fight with one ghost in particular, who had suddenly stopped mentioning the importance of his 'pelt'…Eww still gross. "Maybe Skulker okay…but that dude's always had a few screws loose…kinda like you…"

"What about him?" Vlad asked, his voice hurried and demanded as he noted the coincidence, there was still a remote possibility that it was only that. A coincidence, right?

"Well, he keeps showing up every morning at 1 so I…"

"For how long?"

"…about…2…or 3 weeks…"

"What about his behaviour?"

"What's with the inquisition?"

"Daniel…"

"Fine…he doesn't act like he used to…we don't shout at each other…y'know my famous witty banter…and he doesn't seem all that interested in my 'pelt' anymore, not that I'm complaining…but…err…Vlad…why are you even asking me all this…it not like it's weird…maybe he just had a personality change or something. Maybe he's having girl troubles with Ember, I mean it can't be easy dating a ghost frog in a metal suit and…"

"I doubt it…I've not heard from him in 3 weeks…"

"Huh…that's weird, aren't you like buddies or something…"

"Allies, Daniel, allies, not friends. But about a week ago he was supposed to discover the location of…an important artefact and bring it to me…"

"…hmm…burglary between ghostly friends now, nice past-time…nice way to build camaraderie…" Danny smiled, but Vlad ignored him.

"…and he never showed…"

"…story-time…" Danny mumbled leaning back and lying on the cold surface of the roof, still in ghost form.

Vlad sighed, "In the last week the Ghost Zone has experienced a dramatic change, Daniel, haven't you noticed anything at all that seemed strange to you, you must feel drawn to it as I do…it is a part of who you are. We both share an affinity with it, though perhaps you ignore it far more than I do."

"What'd you…" he was about to ask what Vlad meant by 'an affinity with the Ghost Zone' but he already knew. It was an amazing place, having been to space he could compare the two easily; they both offered an unlimited freedom. Huge expanses of empty space that went on forever, both were beautiful and fascinating and he loved both places greatly.

The Ghost Zone though wasn't something he wanted to be attached to. It meant admitting that he was half-ghost…half _dead…_not something that he was keen on doing. Every time he went into the portal his body practically glowed with…happiness…was perhaps the best word to describe it. What freaked him out was, that it happened whether he was in ghost form or human form; not good. It felt like coming home after a long day of being stuck in a small room with only Dash for company, with no questions or dangerous inventions to zap him as he slept. And the annoying thing was he had felt something strange when he was last there, yesterday, actually, the air was thicker and dense, it felt…claustrophobic almost.

"Shut up, fruit-loop," Danny muttered, cursing that Vlad was right.

"I believe the real Skulker is trapped deep within the Ghost Zone, most likely along with several other ghosts, hence the reason for your recent ghost free days…aside from the fake Skulker…"

"How do you know I've been having ghost free…never-mind…go on, carry on Vladdie…"

"…hmm…as I was saying…perhaps it would be best, in the interests of your family…"

"You mean my _mom_…"

"…if you left Amity Park for the time being…" he wasn't about to suggest that Danny come with him, at least not yet.

"Yeah, sure…then you swoop in and rescue my mom from the attack of the _evil _'Wisconsin ghost' and ditch my dad…"

"Now there's an idea…you're really quite evil when you want to be, Daniel," Vlad sneered evilly at the boy.

"Keep dreaming, fruit-loop, you're gonna have to do better than that to scare the bejesus outta me," Danny finished.

"I'll keep that in mind when for when I am **actually** trying to scare you, however, if you'd care to notice I have done nothing of the sort."

"Huh?"

"Daniel, I have had my ghost powers long enough to know when something is not right…call it intuition…a sixth sense…whatever, the point is something attacked me, **me, **before it went after you and it will…"

"…maybe it likes you," Danny smiled, but Vlad just clipped him upside the back of his head.

"Be serious child," he cut across the clear reproach Danny was about to make, "you know as well as I, that it would be much more entertaining for me to beat you up and be on my way. Nonetheless circumstances are different. Think: why would something send something to impersonate Skulker to attack you, if not to permanently incapacitate you?"

"Err…to…test me…so the Skulker I've been fighting almost every night isn't the real Skulker, you haven't heard from the real Skulker in a month, and something has said Skulker locked up somewhere…wow…aside from the irony of _The Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter _being locked up I've never said Skulker's name so many times in one sentence." Danny smiled, "…wait, I'm not saying I believe you…" he held up his hands and shook them in front of Vlad.

"It is only recently that I've recovered enough to come here, if it was to get its hands on my half ghost-half human energy, or yours for that matter, the results would be catastrophic…" Vlad continued, ignoring Danny's little rant.

"…wait…**recovered**, as in seriously injured and **recovered**…this…whatever it was beat the crap outta you…oh man this thing is my new best friend…I like him already…" Danny laughed. "You ever stopped to think that this might have come at a really bad time for me…I have a lot of homework to do, and a death…I mean a basketball rematch on Wednesday and if I don't show I'll be socially mortified for life…more so than usually…and I was gonna…y'know fly over to the Space Centre and take a look around…helping you with some shit-scary monster wasn't on my to-do list…"

"Daniel," Vlad sighed, "…fine, have it your way, when you see that I am telling the truth let me know, I have more important things to worry about right now." The man stood and walked away from Danny, leaving the boy staring at Vlad's retreating back in confusion and astonishment.

Surprising himself, Vlad used the door, (Like a regular person! Shocker!) and descended the stairs that lead into the house from the roof. "Apologies, Maddie, Jack, must dash…business, you know…very pressing business matters to deal with…" he said as he re-entered the sitting room. His speech was broken from his all but shattered nerves as he pulled on his black overcoat that was hung beside the front door.

"So soon, V-man?" Jack moaned, but Vlad wasn't in the mood to toy with the man, surprising even himself, he answered without sarcasm.

"Yes, Jack you know how it is…"

"Ah…shucks Vlad…maybe you can stay for longer next time…" the orange jump suit wearing man continued.

"How was Danny?" Maddie asked.

"…what…oh well…you know what teenagers are like these days…he'll be fine, I'm sure…nothing to worry about…well until next time, Maddie," he abruptly left the house and signalled to his limousine driver. The car was waiting at the end of the street tucked away in an alley to avoid attention, not that people ever failed to notice a limo in an alley anyway. But that's Vlad for ya'. The shiny black car pulled up beside the house, Vlad promptly entered and shut the door on the world behind it. Everything here was red, rich and velveteen, no complicated outside world or 'shit-scary monsters' trying to tear him limb from limb.

"Where to, sir?" his driver asked from up front. The man's appearance was innocently human, he had pale skin and thick black hair that was cut unusually short at the back and long at the front, but he carried it off well. His pale features and grey eyes were enhanced by his black uniform and cap, you would never guess he was a ghost in disguise. **(*2)**

"Home, Byron, home," Vlad repeated, rubbing his aching shoulder, his back now ached as well since Daniel had decided to introduce it to the Fenton Ops-Centre; like he needed anymore injuries to deal with right now.

His ghostly driver, (pun intended) nodded, turned to the road and it was full speed ahead, location; Mayors Manor on the outskirts of the city. Vlad gazed out of the darkened window to see Daniel floating above _Fenton Works_ staring directly at him as his limo picked up speed driving along the empty road. Then he turned away and everything faded into oblivion.

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><p>A.N. So what say you? Hopefully it was in character. I know I had Vlad give an exposition...but he does it so well ;) I also didn't think Vlad and Danny would be ready to fight just yet. Don't worry they will, they have to.<p>

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><p><strong>(*1)<strong> I read somewhere that Vlad calls Danny 'Little Badger' because his of precious Green Bay Packers fixation, correct me if I'm wrong.

**(*2) **Just can't imagine Vlad employing human staff; he would want the _crème de la crème_ and ghosts seem more capable than humans since they don't need sleep, or food or…y'know. Also, I can't see him telling any humans that's he's half ghost and it would be awkward to write a story without some staff since Vladdie doesn't have enough people round him. He would also be able to win respect easily, cuz he can be shit scary!


	5. Trouble is Come Again

A.N. Wasn't sure where I was going with this but once again I think it works, maybe you just think I'm waffling. However I enjoy attempting to show a characters mind-set in different situations; it's challenging and interesting. Perhaps I'm just a psychology freak, but whatever. This was meant to be a big fight scene but it didn't pan out that way, I think it was just too soon in the story for a kick ass fight. And as this is meant to be my debut _magnum opus_ so I wanted it to be extensive and of course, perfect.

Now, this was where I was going to add info on Vladdies staff, but it turned out so long that I added it as another story. It my handy guide to all things ghostly. Read and tell me what you think!

Disclaimer; I don't own Danny Phantom; however any original characters are the sole property of my slightly warped mind. Enjoy!

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><p><strong>What Unusual halflives we lead<strong>

Chapter 5: Trouble is come again

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><p>Danny watched as Vlad's ostentatious limo vanished from sight before he floated down through the roof and back into his room, he morphed back into his human half and threw himself onto his bed. Despite the fact that there were clothes and papers littered atop the covers he curled himself into a foetal position. With glassy eyes he stared at the opposing wall, it wasn't particularly interesting and there was nothing different about it from the 3 other walls but that didn't stop him from staring. He just couldn't help replaying that strange conversation in his mind. What on earth had Vlad done that was so terrible that caused him to warn Danny? The man must be in some serious shit, he decided.<p>

That wasn't really what bothered him, he didn't care about Vlad's wellbeing, the man had put him in some serious shit…but then what was Vlad doing here anyway? Was he warning him? Or was it another one of his evil schemes? He just couldn't figure the man out and he wasn't likely to, either. A small part of him, a voice that never really left him alone, repeatedly told him that he should care…that he **did** care…and that he wanted to trust Vlad. But the man was one seriously crazed up fruit loop. How could you trust someone that had tried to kill you? That wanted to get rid of your father by any means necessary, and marry your mother. The man had serious issues! And he could hold a grudge like no one Danny knew. Vlad had hated his father for 20 years! 20 years! He couldn't imagine not talking to Tucker for 20 days straight, let alone plotting to kill him for 20 _years_.

Should he have blamed Sam and Tuck for his accident…he never would have dreamed of doing such a thing…he made his choice to go into the _Fenton Portal. _But then…his conscience echoed; his situation had been different from Vlad's'. His powers were down to his _own _curiosity…his _own_ actions…Vlad's were down to a miscalculation…his _dad's _miscalculation. So he supposed…that Vlad _did _have some kind of distorted _right_ to hold a grudge. But it wasn't like Vlad hated his own ghost powers, didn't he view them as a gift, as something that made him better than mere humans…so did he really hate Jack for that alone? Vlad was one of the most powerful ghosts in the zone, as much as it pained Danny to admit it, it was true. If the two were somehow to be locked together in a fight to the death…Danny knew he would have no hope of winning, not that he wouldn't put up a fight, but still. He didn't have the luxury of 20 years of practice; he hadn't even had 2 years!

"Danny," Jazz whispered as she rapped slowly on his bedroom door and his train of thought crashed into a rock. She peered inside and, seeing him sprawled on his bed, but clearly awake she entered and closed the door behind her. "What happened? What did mom and dad say?"

"Nothing…" Danny replied sadly, "as usual, but…I had a chat with Vlad…" he stated and it must have seemed quite random to his sister. Her eyes widened and her brow was raised in confusion as she sat on the edge of his bed, rearranging papers and clothes to make some space.

"Vlad," she repeated, locking her eyes with his, "what did he do to you Danny…I know you're already hurt, so show me what he…"

"He…didn't do…anything…to me he just…it was weird, Jazz. I don't get it, why did he come all the way here if not to beat me up? What is with him, seriously? Why can't things ever be easy?"

"I don't know any of that, Danny, maybe you should tell me what happened,"

"We just…talked…err…I may have said some stupid things I probably shouldn't have but…he said he thinks the Skulker that's been attacking me is a fake and the real one is locked up somewhere."

"Skulker? Really, ha sure,"

"That's what I said," Danny nodded, sitting up and crossing his legs he continued, "He said…" he wondered whether or not he should tell Jazz about Vlad's cryptic warning. It would only worry her and his sister had her own problems to worry about; she was working hard for her college exams, and that was no ride in the park. And she had taken it upon herself when she returned to the house to keep all of their parents inventions away from Danny, now that was a full time occupation if ever there was one, but it was one that he disapproved off. He could look after himself, he would look after himself; it wasn't that he distrusted his sister, but he cared about her. And that, according to Vlad was Danny's major weakness; caring for others made you weak and vulnerable and you would only end up getting the both of you killed. But it was Vlad he didn't trust…it was Vlad he couldn't trust and therefore he said to his sister; "…nothing Jazz…it was just weird…it's just another one of his crazy fruit loopy schemes…"

"Alright, if you say so…now show me that wound," she ordered, "I don't miss a thing, Danny, and you're not the world's best liar."

It was those words that reverberated in his mind, it made his eyes blank out and his sister stared at him like he was possessed. "Danny," she lightly shook his shoulder and he came too.

"Sorry, Jazz, little spacy…"

"You need rest, so let me look at that," she indicated at his chest as she carefully lifted his shirt, "and you can…" she trailed of as the wound became visible. "Are you sure…Vlad didn't do anything…are you hiding something from me…"

"What, no, why would I…" Danny began to defend himself, trying desperately not to panic, but realised that Jazz still hadn't looked up from his wound. "What's up with…?" he found himself unable to complete his own sentence as he too noticed the state of his midriff.

In his defence he hadn't had time to look at it since last night…or rather early that morning after it had been made…and it had been about 3 am when he had finally drifted off. Skulker had hit him pretty hard in that fight, more so than usually, and here was the proof. Initially the wound was small and red, now it resembled black mould and had spread to the middle of his ribcage. Something was definitely wrong. This had never happened before…not once, not with a single one of the wound's he'd ever had before, and Danny had had a lot of them to choose from.

It sent a chill down Jazz's spine just looking at it, and she didn't have a clue where to start on…what was she supposed to do? Clean it…how? Bandage it…why? It wasn't a wound exactly; it wasn't scabbing over like a wound should do. Neither of them had any idea what to do. "It doesn't matter…" Danny decided, "Just leave it, it's fine."

"You need to find out what this is…it can't be anything good," his sister said with a worried expression.

"Mm-hmm," Danny nodded sleepily, "first thing in the morning. I'll get up before mom and dad and sneak into the lab…no problem," he yawned the sleep deprivation, stress and confusion now taking its toll. With no idea what they were dealing with Jazz nodded and cleared the rest of his bed so that he could sleep peacefully she pulled the covers over him and flicked off the light switch.

She hoped her brother would be alright. But she was smart, she knew Danny had his limits and if he wasn't careful he just end up getting himself killed. He never did think ahead. He'd gotten better, of course, but he still had a long way to go. He could figure the science stuff out easily enough; they both could having been raised by two scientists for parents. But she forced all the problems aside as she noticed Danny staring to fall asleep.

"'Night, Danny," she whispered, and left the room in darkness.

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><p><em>That night Danny's dreams were plagued by fear. He dreamt of a huge black creature, a figureless shadow, it destroyed the sun and covered the world in darkness. It flew through him, delivering a pain he'd never known before. It felt cold and hot at the same time, light and dark overtaking him, water and fire, night and day, sun and moon, it kept repeating itself, over and over and over. It seemed he was alone in his nightmare; he couldn't see his mother or his father, his sister or his friends, or even any ghosts to wither help him or even to laugh at him and his pathetic situation. He tried to wake up, but it was no use, he thought just then that he heard a deep voice that was laughing, laughing at his powerlessness, at his inability to do anything right…it continued to echo in his mind. He had to wake up…<em>

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><p>Jumping awake and breathing hard Danny couldn't help noticing that, as he'd intended he'd woken early; he never did get much sleep anymore and was always up around 4 in the morning, if he didn't get out of bed he never fell back to sleep. Danny supposed that it came with having plenty of things to have nightmares about; it gave his mind plenty of material to throw back at him without the need for his imagination when it came to his dreams. Cursing his sadistic mind he floated down through his floor and into the lab to begin yet another fantastic day. Yay.<p>

Pushing his stranger than usual dream from his mind he grabbed a clean pair of tweezers and lightly pulled off a small part of the mould that was slowly engulfing his chest. He had never had to do this before, he mused, most of his wounds would have healed by now, but this was different. Although how it was different he didn't yet know, but he intended to find out.

Danny had gotten pretty good at science. In the past year he had been monitoring his own DNA and looking for variations. He hadn't learnt any new powers in that time but he was anxious to learn if it changed when he did. Like when he got full control of his ice powers, with Frostbites help, he and his friends had noticed that his body temperature had lowered by almost 8 degrees Celsius. But he still wasn't able to compare changes in his DNA. He had already filled a whole folder on his laptop on the differences between his previous human DNA, courtesy of Tucker's hacking skills, and his current hybrid state. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but it never hurt to be prepared.

Looking at the substance under a microscope Danny discovered he had good reasons for his paranoia. Using his green energy to surround the bookshelf in the all but impenetrable _Fenton Weapons Vault _a thick tome entitled _'Recognising microscopic entities for the bored proletariat' _floated through it and landed silently on the table. Jazz had suggested that it would be a good idea to keep her old science books in there, as they would be protected from the inevitable explosions from experiments and Danny would be able to use them in secret. It had been a good idea; he had to admit Jazz had her moments…she just had more of them than a lot of people.

Along with the usual dead bacteria and immune cells, although his now had a greenish tint to them in either form, he found several things he didn't recognise and he was sure they weren't supposed to be there. So he gazed down through the lens and picked out the individual platelets that made up the scab, but nothing came to him about the rest of it. He picked up the tome and flicked through its pages, as he did so he had begun to subconsciously float about the room, it helped him think. Each page of the hard-backed volume was worn and torn but it held images and information on every kind of bacteria, mould and germ imaginable. Danny couldn't imagine what he would have done without its inestimable services recently. He didn't have any money to buy a newer version so Jazz's dated one had had to do. Even though she had offered to get one herself and give it to him as a birthday present as an excuse he wasn't having any of it, neither of them had money to waste.

It seemed that his parent's financial situation had worsened recently. He and Jazz had warned them but their mom and dad but they had invested in a Ghost Hunting academy in Washington but the venture had plummeted. So now they were on an even tighter budget, Danny had offered to get a part-time job to help, even though he knew it would have done little to improve their situation. And a few months ago he had done just that. He was working weekends at the local supermarket, it hadn't been glamorous or exiting stacking shelves or working tills but he had been making some money. It had been tough of course, what with school, ghost fights and a job, but he had managed it. Until one Sunday night, he had been just about to clock out for the night when…of course the sudden attacks had started. Skulker had ruined his first paid job and Danny had been left with a broken arm and the sack. How the managers had thought to blame him was beyond Danny but it didn't make much difference, he had been on part-time minimum wage anyway.

Because of this he had been refraining from doing anything that involved spending extra money if he could avoid it. He frequented the library's more often for school work when he got the chance, the books he used for his classes now had been a gift from Sam, that had been nice for him, but it still embarrassed him for some reason. He tried to stop his parents buying their usual unnecessary broken toasters and irons that they used in their experiments. His success was of mixed results. He'd never been a pig when it came to food even before his ghost powers but he'd been relying on his ghostly energy even more now. If he didn't need to eat much what was the point? Jazz hadn't agreed with him but she couldn't force feed him, especially when he'd just fly through her and stay out all night in the skies.

As he continued to drift round the room, he walked on the walls and was stood on the ceiling when a nagging voice in his head told him he wasn't going to find what he was looking for in a dated volume of _human _bacteria's. Grumbling at why things in his life had to be so complicated, he hooked the microscope up to his laptop and printed of the image of his findings and cleaned up. He burnt the sample using his ecto-energy, and put back the book and microscope with a mental note to visit the Ghost Writers library. Because Danny was a ghost he had a natural library card despite the fact that it had taken the Writer several weeks to leave him alone with the books after his last experience; he now visited often and had learnt just as much from ghost books as he had human books. He folded up the piece of paper and flew into the bathroom for a long calming shower before anyone woke up.

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><p>Once Vlad returned to the land of the living, or in his case the half living, he noticed that he was no longer at the Fenton's…or in his limo…or even in a hospital…so where was he? His world at the moment was comprised of warmth and softness; it was a good world in which he was tempted to prolong his stay for as long as possible. But as usual mistress bad luck had other ideas, and he let out a small moan of repressed agony as awareness made its slow return. With considerable effort he willed his eyes open and was met with darkness and silence. Years of waking up in a similar fashion had taught him that his was either one of 2 things. It was possibly a good thing; he may have been in so much pain that his body refused to co-operate and shut down and part of him would always be thankful as he would feel no pain.<p>

Or it was a very, very bad thing; having no awareness could mean death, even if one was in pain at least if you were awake you had a chance of survival, however he concluded that he was in fact alive. As his eyes easily adjusted to the darkness he was able to recognise his bedroom in his Amity Park manor house, being the mayor did have its perks. (Besides annoying the crap out of Daniel and his silly friends.)

He still preferred his Wisconsin home, after all a manor house _was_ a step down from a castle. But this place wasn't too shabby; he had chosen the best wing in the place and the best bedroom of course for yours truly. In daylight it was resplendent in its opulence with its twin royal colours of ruby reds and glowing gold, but the thick draperies hid the room from the world and shrouded its magnificence in shadow.

After concluding from the both silence and his ghostly senses that there was no-one else, alive or dead in the room with him he made the move to get out of his bed. However comfortable he was he couldn't afford another power nap, so he tossed aside the edge of his thick earthy eiderdown and welcomed the sudden cool air. Slowly swinging his legs over the mattress, he noted that his shoes had been removed as he staggered into his ensuite bathroom. He turned on the lights and was met with a soft ambience illuminating his protesting senses. Perhaps he had been pushing his luck in ignoring ghost-given medical advice after all, especially when the ghost in question had over 700 years of experience. Oh well, _C'est la vie._

Observing his reflection in one of the rounded mirrors on the walls he let out a disappointed sigh; his eyes were tired and drained, clearly in protest of his recent activities. And the prominent shadows beneath them were not to be ignored. His 5'o clock shadow also screamed at him, as perfection was his art he was not amused with his hair in a similar state of disarray. Perhaps he was due a haircut as well. It would have to wait he decided as he carefully unbuttoned his shirt and took stock of his injuries. His shoulders had bruised up quite nicely; a collection of vivid blues, purples and blacks coloured his usually immaculate pale skin littered with angry red scars on his arms and chest. After years of being a considered an infectious disease he had come to take pride in his appearance and what he saw now angered him.

And as the memories of his little outing returned he supposed that his stubbornness had clearly affected his healing abilities, but Daniel hadn't even listened to him, he shouldn't have bothered. The boy had been warned and Vlad had been ignored, but had the situation been reversed he probably wouldn't have believed Daniel either. So he couldn't really blame him, could he? Lacking his usual grace he moved about the room turned the ostentatious golden taps and waited for the bath to fill up with hot steaming water.

It was a beautiful, almost Grecian style room, with soft lighting, lush green plants, and marble surfaces with the walls almost covered in mirrors he was able to glimpse the state of his back as well, and it was not pleasant. And he doubted highly that Daniel's simple attack had done that much damage to him. As the water continued to rise he took out several lavish towels, only the best of Egyptian cotton of course, placing one on the floor and the other on the counter beside the sink. After removing the remainder of his clothes, he was forced to lower himself slowly into the water, ignoring the searing agony from his wounds and concentrating instead on the simmering vapour of steam rising from the blistering water.

After a calming lengthy soak, he was left to dry himself off and hastily picked out some clean clothes from his substantial wardrobe. Dressing him-self as best as he could with his aching arms he then promptly made his way down the wide staircase that lead to his main sitting room grasping the dark wooden handrail the whole way down. As usual he passed no one on his journey and the house filled him with a sense of isolation as his footsteps echoed around him. He guessed that all of his staff were sensibly giving him his space…or they were hiding in his 'secret' lab messing with his inventions. As he had discovered, much to his misfortune Spectrals retained an avid curiosity that often cost him and his treasured laboratory dearly.

"Oh, cheese logs…" he cursed noticing that the hidden door disguised as a bookcase was ajar. He descended the darkened staircase and paused, as a familar warm sense of danger and alertness quickly over took his senses. But he was quickly able to discern that he was in little danger, as he stood silently watching the ghosts.

All of the seven Spectrals he employed had long since dropped the image of humanity and floated as green wispy ghosts with little to show for their individuality other than their voices and their eyes.

"I wonder what this thingy does…" a kind sounding female voice said with child-like curiosity. The speaker floated above one of the many work surfaces littered with half-finished inventions and papers. The room was a simple rectangular shape and in the centre of the far wall was Vlad's own _Ghost Portal_, locked of course with a reinforced metal door which combined human and ghostly materials. The walls to his left held a long continual row of worktops, cupboards and shelves made of both wood and metal.

"Mr Masters…err…" Vlad could easily recognise the voice of the Spectral who acted as his official driver and unofficial mother hen; Byron. The Spectral was the first he'd ever met and his chosen name was a private joke.

* * *

><p><em>Vlad had been reading a book of Lord Byron's poetry in the hospital late at night several months after the college accident when a newly formed Spectral fell through the ceiling. Vlad felt a strange feeling of sudden warmth run through his veins and swore as a red puff of smoke escaped from his mouth, he thought he was learning to control that thing...it annoyed him and he had quickly noticed tat hit only appeared when other ghosts ran into him.<em>

_In confusion it gazed up at the bed and into the eyes of the only other being in the room, it had tilted its head in pure fear. Vlad had only sighed and ignored the warnings his body had given out upon the silent entrance of this…ghost. He had already grown used to people, and things looking at him in fear so this came as no surprise. But then the ghost had got up from the floor and hovered over to the bed and its occupant. "L…lo…lord…By…ron…" it read slowly, "that…seems…I can't…Ohhhh…" the ghost had cried and Vlad had sighed._

_He had since learnt that what had fallen into his hospital room had been a new Spectral and typical of its species it remembered nothing about its former life as a human. Perhaps he had been a patient at the same time as Vlad, but he never did find that out. After he had left the hospital Vlad had travelled from state to state, hostel to hostel until his sights had settled firmly on the business world. Whilst living in the slums he had made his first million, or rather stole his first million and much to shock and dismay of his new associates took up a large castle in Madison, Wisconsin. There he was able to live in splendid isolation whilst his ghost powers grew and his hatred for Jack increased. _

_A year after the accident he had stumbled on a group of creatures as he had been flying through his new ghost portal into the zone. They were exactly like what he had seen in his hospital room before as cowered from him on a floating rock. One of them tentatively floated up to him and he was tempted to just leave them there to get eaten or absorbed by a stronger ghost when he recognised the voice. "I know you…don't I?" it had asked him, "…you look…different…."_

_That had been when one of the most shocking things in his life had happened; a huge bestial ghost had rampaged past them, and Vlad, still a novice at his ghost powers, had been hit its powerful blast. He had tumbled through the zone and had morphed into his human half in agony. Thinking he was done for good the green glowing ghosts fired consecutive blasts at the beast, stunning it they took the human and flew away, deep into the Ghost Zone into an empty cave made of grey and purple rock. "What are you?" The same voice asked him when he awoke and Vlad returned the question. "We don't know…" had been the reply and they had followed him home, marvelled at his portal and made themselves at home._

_It had taken Vlad several weeks but he discovered what the creatures were and had told them, subsequently they had then offered to stay with him. Despite his protests had that he didn't need anyone or anything they remained. Although to be fair they did pull their weight, and he barely had to pay them anything...not with money of course. Each one of them had formed personalities and given names to each other, Byron of course after the book Vlad had been reading in hospital._

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><p>"So," Vlad began with a coy smile, "Would you care to explain what you are doing in my lab?" he was leaning casually on the doorframe and the ghosts instantly gaped at him with open mouths. They all dropped whatever they had been holding and floated to the ground taking on their human forms, stuttering and sharing worried looks with each other.<p>

"Well…that is err…" Byron began, "we…er…" he stuttered and shook in fear at the thought of angering his employer. They had been on the recieving end of Vladimir Master's temper before and it was not a good place to be; dead or alive.

Vlad only glanced down at the broken bottles and inventions that lay on the floor with a look of irritation and disbelief, he merely sighed then vacated the lab in favour of the huge dark sitting room. The Spectrals followed him despite knowing that their master probably wanted peace and quiet.

Vlad took his usual high backed cushioned chair closeted to the vast stone fireplace carved in typical Victorian style. The house itself was old and the rooms were a reflection of that. This was decorated in light Edwardian style with its walls red half way up and white at the top and on the ceiling. A mirror lay about the mantle of the fire and there were plants and marble statues that added a Grecian ambience to the room.

His ghostly staff of seven sat round him as his white cat Maddie jumped into his lap, and Marion, one of his maids lit the fire using her ghost energy, the logs in the grate ignited with a ghostly glow. **(*1)**

This ghost took on the human appearance of a middle aged woman with greying brown hair in a messy bun, took on the position of 'self-appointed head maid' in his house and had done for a long time. Wearing a common enough uniform dress she and the other two maids worked in military-like perfection to keep his house spotless, dustless and grime-less, his clothes were always cleaned and his work papers were always in order. Alothea, who took on the role of both maid and ghostly nurse, was the most recent addition to Vlad's staff but with over 700 years' experience on medical knowledge she was invaluable. She had an open, kind face and could win the trust of any man, or woman with her honest green eyed gaze. Elyn was a rarely heard voice of reason; and both she and Alothea were petite and pixie like in the extreme in their human forms. They sat together entangled on the same cushioned chair like twin sisters.

Their exact opposites sat on a sofa beside them; his cook Harry, who often demanded to be called 'Horatio Nelson', had an egotistical nature in every sense of the word. His cooking was his art and if you crossed him you'd know it in the morning, as he was a tall beefy man with huge muscles and an unforgiving exterior. One who knew this best was the self-appointed sous chef Louis, so called only as it irked him to no end and his chosen name of 'Napoleon Bonaparte' was a source of much amusement and an incredulous cook. In appearance he was Harry's polar opposite, thin and scrawny, they argued constantly and he spoke only with an abominable French accent. Vlad had tried numerous times to cure himself of this affliction, he spoke fluent French and found Louis' pronunciation the worst he'd ever had to hear, but in the end it was hopeless. Louis had stayed and so had The Accent.

The last member of his staff was also not to be outdone in strangeness; maybe it was a common trait of Spectrals, give them the opportunity to discover a personality and they drive you mad with it. Larson, as he had been dubbed was his gardener, a young man in his ever-present overalls with kleptomaniac tendencies that were drawn to anything he thought would add to his aesthetics of a respectable garden. Vlad couldn't complain though, his gardens in Wisconsin had won numerous awards and prizes for their beauty over the years, all of which were stashed away in Larson's room under the bed that he had no need of except as a hiding place.

"Nothing good?" Alothea asked, breaking Vlad's musings and concentration.

"No," he answered stoically, "Did you learn anything?" Whilst he had been away that day he had tasked his staff with running through his surveillance tapes to discover anything they could about the monster that had paid them an unexpected visit over a week ago. And now he was hoping for answers, the entire east wing had been reduced to rubble by it and with no explanation it had annoyed Vlad greatly. Of course it had been quickly fixed overnight by the Spectrals, who over the years had gleaned a lot of unorthodox practice of fixing buildings after severe ghost attacks.

"No, sir," Marion replied, "we can tell you little that you don't already know."

"It didn't leave us anything to go on," Elyn added, "We can't track its signature and most of the cameras were destroyed."

"I think it's fair to say it's not stupid," Alothea began, "It knew where the cameras were and took them out before it attacked us and then went for you, it knew we wouldn't be much of a treat but on the off chance that we'd go for help it got rid of the possibility. I think it's a Spirit…a Governing Spirit" she added after the confused looks from the cooks.** (*2)**

"Not funny, Ally," Louis shot back, "you don't joke about zat kind of thing, eet iz not right."

"I'm **not** joking, I really…"

"I agree," Vlad said effectively silencing what would have turned into a shouting match but his aching head wasn't quite up for that yet.

"Then we are in trouble," Marion said sadly as she shook her head. When Ally had first suggested it they all denied it on the grounds that it was impossible, unthinkable…but now the horrifying reality had set in.

"Yes, we are," Vlad agreed quietly, "yes, we are..."

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><p>A.N. Another cliffie. Dun dun dun….actually I left it like this cuz I'm sort of stuck and now I have to revise so…Ta!<p>

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><p><strong>(*1)<strong> Get it? 'Maid' Marion LOL, I tried to make each of the names have some sort of irony to either their job or their personality, as you can see they won't be too subtle, I don't have the time or the patience to think of anything else and I think it's funny.

** (*2) ** Have to have read my other short story of Understanding the Ghost Zone in 7 easy lessons for this to make more sense, as I have explained all my fruit-loopyness in this, okay? I will probably also explain it in a later chapter.


	6. Curiouser and Curiouser

A.N. I'd like to know what you think about how I'm writing this thing; does it work for you as readers? 'Cuz I switch from what's happening to Danny to Vlad, the idea is that like in chapter 4 they kind of merge and me in my infinite wisdom tries to get inside both their minds at the same time, this is sometimes easier than others, I guess it depends on my mood. I did experiment a little with this one and a first person narrative but I don't think it worked as well as this; I was never much for writing in first person anyway. Maybe later on I will have another go to get a better psychological insight but this is how I always write so it will stay this way, I suppose this is a mix of first and third person narrative voices, I think it works!

Leave a review and let me know, advice is most welcome and it really makes my day. BIG SMILES PEOPLE as I have now also OFICIALLY finished with my January exams! YEAH! So I will hopefully have a little more time to write.

I don't know if I'm going crazy or not but writing this thing has rekindled my long forgotten love affair with chess. Ya' know cuz Vlad loves it so much and it's such a good metaphor for how he sees the world. And as I've been trying to get into his mind and all, I guess it's contagious…it's the same with stargazing for Danny. Any fellow Brits may have noticed the recent _Stargazing Live _on the BBC in the last week with Dara O Briain and Prof. Brian Cox and I couldn't take my eyes of it, it was fascinating. Weird or what? Problem is I HATE football, both American and English so if I start to develop a Green Bay Packers fixation I think it might be time to call it a day!

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><p>…Now if I remember correctly I foreshadowed some real seriousness in the last chapter so let's see what happens now…<p>

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><p><strong>What Unusual halflives we lead<strong>

Chapter 6: Curiouser and Curiouser

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><p>After his shower Danny crept into Jazz's room and knocked, "Jazz, you up?" he asked quietly.<p>

A second later his sister opened the door and stared at him in disapproval, he hadn't had much sleep again, she guessed correctly. "What's wrong?" she asked tiredly.

"Nothing. I just figured I'd tell you I'm goin' to the Ghost Zone for a while, otherwise you'll freak out like last time. And just so you know I'm only going to the Ghost Writer's library to check out some stuff." He said rather defensively.

"Couldn't find out what…that is?" His sister looked him over with a solicitous glance.

"No, but I will, so don't worry about it," he said cheerfully, "Tell mom and Dad I've gone to Tuck's, they're a little ticked off with me goin' to Sam's so much, so I don't wanna start something. See ya," he said and before she could protest he had phased through the floor and was gone, she sighed and closed her bedroom door.

Once again he felt the same pang of guilt he always at lying, both at his parents and Jazz, however it couldn't be helped. But it was partly true, so that wasn't as bad, right? He **did** plan on visiting the Ghost Writer…it wasn't at the top of his priority list for the day. What Vlad had said to him had him seriously worried, and as he flew through the Zone he couldn't shake the increasing feeling of dread that engulfed him. It just wouldn't give him a moment's peace and the growing sense of claustrophobia from the swirling green air gave him a serious case of the heebie jeebies.

And what annoyed him was he couldn't figure out why. Nothing **looked** different, it just **felt** wrong. The Ghost Zone looked the same as it always had; a vast expanse of kaleidoscopic green which seemed to glow and illuminate his way. The rocks of dusty earth floating around cast interlocking shadows on themselves and the infinite number of doorways and natural portals drifted listlessly in the air. He loved the mystery each one posed, each was unique in appearance and destination; every point in the past the present and the future all of them impossible to either navigate or predict. A dangerously attractive combination. But he wasn't here to find another mystery, he was here to solve one, so he demanded that his curiosity take a back seat on _Air Danny_ as he drew nearer to his destination.

The Intemporel Face.

The most shadowy and covert place in the whole of the Ghost Zone. A timeless place where the laws of realism and physics were meaningless and every corner posed a new mystery. And most importantly; home of Clockwork, one of the most powerful inhabitants of the Zone. The Master of Time itself. But everything had its downside, and working for the Observants was defiantly top of the list. They meddled in everything, Danny supposed in that way Vlad was a lot like them, but fortunately they had an intelligent servant. Clockwork was clearly more powerful than every Observant put together and multiplied by a billion but he still worked for them. Danny just couldn't understand it, but then he wasn't able to see every outcome from every decision from all of history. He would have gone mad! But if anyone knew what was causing this change and was likely to tell him anything it was Clockwork.

He landed silently on the large elaborate island and took in the familiar surroundings of the huge clock faces that littered the citadel. Some clocks floated in the air, their hands turning noiselessly, while others lay discarded, forgotten on the ground the faces cracked and damaged against the sarsens. Clockwork had once explained to him that like his appearance the clocks represented the passage of time, so each fallen face denoted a lost reality or future that would never happen. Danny had found his description quite sad; would-be futures filled with dreams and people that had been thrown away because of someone's decision to act differently. But he couldn't see things the way that Clockwork did, and he never would.

Danny wandered beneath the precarious turrets and towers and ignored the few pieces that fell from above, he had long since gotten over the fact that the buildings were decaying around him. Like Clockwork they just aged, and then the process reversed and repeated again, it was really cool once you got used to it.

"Clockwork…" Danny voiced, and the resounding echo bounced off the aging walls as he continued his journey. "Anyone home…hello…" Passing through darkened corridors filled with contrasting monochromic bygone décor and gaudy baroque extravagances, he scanned each corner and shadow. He hoped that the Master of the House wasn't planning on surprising him. He wasn't in the mood for surprises right now. Very soon he reached the main room of the island and was standing before the colossal glowing portal on the wall. The ceiling of the room was cracked and broken, its huge gaping holes casting shafts of light onto the ground below.

Currently Clockworks' portal was blank, showing only the spiralling atmosphere of the Ghost Zone, unfortunately the room was empty too. Which Danny found unusual, Clockwork was always home, he was always here whenever Danny came Clockwork would always know where and when he was going to show being the Master of Time and all it wasn't difficult to figure out why.

So what was going on?

He walked the length of the room and on instinct checked that nothing was amiss, not that he was the world greatest detective but surely if something had happened…to Clockwork? Was he serious? It was impossible to surprise him, Danny knew all too well as he had tried and failed miserably. You couldn't surprise someone who knew you were going to attack them before you even knew it yourself. Maybe his paranoia was just acting up again, that had to be it, but he was sure he was being watched. The hairs of the back of his neck prickled and his heightened senses were on full alert as he peered into the dark shadows in the corners of the room.

After coming to the conclusion that there was nothing amiss and not a soul to be found in the limitless citadel Danny sighed and decided to leave, he wasn't achieving anything here. Maybe Clockwork was just out visiting the Observants; that must be it, he did kind of work for them after all so it made sense that he would need to speak to them on occasion. Reluctantly he took off and left via one of the cavernous holes in the rafters.

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><p>From the concealing darkness a voice suddenly spoke; "This is for the best," the first Observant messenger said with no emotion in his steady voice. His single eye was focused on the retreating body of the ghost boy as he began to fly away with a clear look of confusion and disappointment.<p>

"I know, but I do not do this for you…" Clockwork replied with a stony expression on his aging visage. He really detested his employers sometimes; they were simple minded fools, only able to see a single outcome from every decision and thought while he had the privilege and curse of overseeing every single one.

"The boy must learn that his own interests will rest solely on his ability to trust his opposite. He cannot do that by relying on an impartial being such as you, Clockwork." The second Observant added. "None of this is of our making; we must remain disinterested, it is their wish."

"I know that too," Clockwork sighed and once Danny was out of sight he floated over to his Chronokenic portico. (A.N. my name for the screen-y thing that shows the different outcomes. From the word Chronokinesis, the manipulation of time) As he drew nearer to it an image appeared clearly, it was one of several outlooks he predicted for the close future, and it had him concerned for the young half-ghost. "I will intervene only if I am left with no other choice, you have my word." He told the Observants, then they briefly nodded and vanished.

The spirit was left to study the object of his melancholy, he truly felt for the boy; hadn't Danny already proven himself enough to the Observants that his intentions were good. How much more could he do…he'd already fought against himself, what more could he do? But of course his employers didn't…or rather couldn't see it in that light; to them Danny's dark future had still happened whether he had chosen to stop it or not. But to Clockwork it was different. Danny had earned his second chance, but fate just seemed to love messing with people. And now something new was closing in around some of the only two people that had earned their peace and quiet the hard way.

Danny had, in his eyes, earned the Observants trust more than once, but they were practically prepared to throw the boy to the wolves so to speak. And Plasmius, though many of his choices over the years were questionable he hadn't had an easy half-life. If Danny had been alone when he got his ghost powers he would have made similar choices, Clockwork knew. But the reality had long since been discarded and lay dead on his island. His gaze didn't waver from the portico as he watched the images morph into a brighter possibility, a happier future. Perhaps things weren't impossible; maybe they could change things and learn to understand each other, if only they tried…

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><p>As he flew back through the Zone the unveiled disappointment began to lift from his face, Danny was trapped in his thoughts and a new one had just come to light. He knew what his friends would say to him; Sam would call him nuts and thwack him over the head with her heavy <em>Othello<em> text. Tucker would agree with her and list all of his other ingenious ideas that had ended badly. But Jazz, his sister would most likely say go for it, after all it as clear that something was amiss, but what should he do? His wound and the Writer's library were the last things on his mind; as usual _self-preservation Danny _was locked up good and tight by _impulsive Danny _and_ curious Danny._

He had passed very few ghosts in his travels, save for several aloof green ghosts he had seen no-one, he knew the Ghost Zone was huge and solitude was not uncommon…but where the hell was everyone? It didn't help that he was already paranoid, and this was not helping his situation.

And this was the origins of his next brilliant idea; a visit to his friendly neighbourhood Mayor Masters. He kept repeating to himself that this wasn't because Vlad was right, or that he believed him. Danny just wanted answers. And if the man had in fact been attacked by something then it must be serious. After all, Vlad would never admit a weakness even if it was true, so something severe must have prompted his recent attempt at his philanthropy merit badge. He continued to weigh up the pro's and con's in his head leaving little space for anything else so his flight path slowed to a halt. He took up temporary residence on a piece of dusty rock beneath him and continued with his inner dilemma.

If he went to Vlad's then maybe he could get some answers, like what was wrong with the atmosphere in the Zone lately? And what he had said about Skulker being a fake was that true? And what had attacked the man so badly? Or maybe it was all a scam and going to Vlad's would only make him a lamb being led to the slaughter. Unfortunately the lamb never escaped and Danny knew that if he played into Vlad's hands like this it could have serious repercussions. Was it worth the risk? Vlad hadn't attacked him last night, but he still hadn't ruled out the possibility that was part of his plan too.

With a moan of pent up frustration he let out a huge blast of glowing green ecto-energy at another of the rocks and it shattered on impact. The ear-shattering explosion caused broken shards to fall in all directions. It helped him on the inside. Making one of his characteristic snap decisions he took off towards Vlad's portal, pushing aside common sense for curiosity and perhaps, a quiet voice in his mind echoed…for stupidity.

Upon reaching the huge purple football Danny smiled ruefully as he pushed it aside and flew into Vlad's lab. Looking around he was curious as to why no alarms went off, was there no end to the strangeness in his life? He glided through the ceiling and into the ground floor sitting room. "Hello…" hoping this wouldn't be another repeat from earlier he mentally berated himself. He had just announced his presence in his enemy's house! Stupid Danny!

Ignoring the luxurious and expensive furnishings he drifted from the room and up the huge stair case, this sucker looked like it belonged in a palace it had a red carpet and everything. Vlad sure did have an ego problem. Danny scoffed as he floated down a corridor lined on both sides with impressive paintings of sweeping landscapes and inspiring sun-sets.

"I'm afraid that Mr Masters is not here at present…that is who you're looking for isn't it?" upon hearing a woman speak Danny did a 180 degree turn so fast it made his head spin. He lit up his palms with ghostly green expecting an attack...but was shocked to find…what he presumed was a maid going by her uniform...but he felt colder and he nearly fell out of the air when his ghost sense went off.

Shit...Vlad had ghost staff, the man was mad!

"I'm sorry, did I frighten you?" she asked. Danny ignored her question and instantly fired at her. But the blast went right through her as she turned herself intangible. She vanished and re-appeared behind him then fired a weak blast back at him. He landed on the floor with a thud and the 'maid' was now in spectral form, he stared wide eyed at her from the floor. Expecting her to finish him off he was surprised when she seemed to smile and asked, "That wasn't very nice now was it Mr Fenton?" and he remained floating in the air then pointed a glowing finger at her.

"How the hell do you know who I am, lady?" he shouted. What kind of place was Vlad running anyway, ghost servants who could get the drop on him and knew who he was...maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all.

"Lucky guess," she replied, "Now do you want to speak to Mr Masters or not?"

"NO!" he shouted and fired at her again. Once more she went intangible and the green energy hit one of the painting crashing to the floor and she merely smiled at him.

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><p>Vlad was sat in his study; it was a large, quiet room adjoining him bedroom which he had furnished to be tasteful yet elegant. But it reminded him too much of his father's own study; stuffy and arrogant. The room was lined with bookshelves and expensive modern furnishings, he liked to think that the modernity of it enabled him to keep himself separate from his home. However you could take the boy out of the environment, but you couldn't take the environment out of the boy. And he had only been a boy when he left home. A silly little boy who dreamed of glory and fame, far away from his the brutality of his father.<p>

CRASH

BANG

CRASH

Vlad nearly jumped out of his skin and the ink was now smudged on his work, damn! He looked up and listened to the sudden outburst of noise that was now taking over the peace and tranquillity of his home.

After a moment all was silent again and he sighed in contentment, he took up his pen once more and concentrated on the words before him. Until it happened again, loud crashing and screaming, what could possibly be happening now?

"What in the blazes?" Vlad shouted and slammed down the fountain pen. He stormed out of the room and down the hallways. "What in the name of the Ghost Zone is going on?" he screamed as he stalked his way towards the growing sound, here he was met with a strange sight.

One of the Spectrals was having their own little war in his house and his expensive fine art pieces had paid the price, whatever she had been fighting had landed at the end of the corridor. "DANIEL!" Vlad bellowed as he saw the ghost boy fly at top speed back towards his 'enemy' to deliver a retaliating blow.

Danny's eyes widened in shock and he stopped almost immediately in front of the angry looking business man. Vlad seemed to dominate the whole space and he was fuming. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, and was slightly pleased that he had the power to make the child slightly shudder in fear as he did.

"It wasn't me, it was HER, she started it and she..."

"Her? What exactly did she do, exactly?" he questioned in a strained voice. Vlad crossed his arms and held the child's green gaze with his own angry blue one.

"She...she...she knows who I am, and I..." Danny explained angrily, "What kind of place are you running here anyway...letting you GHOST servants go around and attack people like this...and how the hell does she even know..."

"Sir, I was asking if Mr Fenton was wanting to speak with you, perhaps I caused him an unnecessary shock," the floating green Spectral suddenly took on the appearance of Marion and now stood firmly on the ground.

"Yes, clearly...I think it best if you leave us now," Vlad said to her and with a nod she instantly spun on her heels and walked silently from view.

"I am SO outta here," Danny muttered as the crazy maid vanished, and shook his head disbelievingly at Vlad before turning to leave.

"Wait," Vlad called and the room was shrouded in his purple ecto-energy which prevented Danny from leaving. "You're not going anywhere, now tell me why you came,"

Danny slammed into the shield despite the fact that he knew it would shock him, maybe Vlad would just take pity on him and let him leave…then again this was Vlad, but _intellectual Danny _had already vacated the premises for now. "You people are all **nuts** in this place," he muttered and floated back down to stand in front of Vlad who regarded him with vague amusement.

"Says the Ghost Boy whose parents hunt ghosts all day," the man shot back and he knew that he had won this little round of witty banter. Childish perhaps, but it made him smile, and there were few things in life that made him smile anymore.

"Stupid fruit loop…" Danny muttered to himself and knew he had lost a major point. He wasn't sure if either of them was meant to be keeping score anymore, but both parties were biased in the extreme so it didn't really matter anyway.

Vlad then turned and made his way down the battered looking corridoor and towards the grand stair case, he descended it and made his way into the sitting room, leaving Danny with two choices. He could follow Vlad and most likely into another trap, or he could go home and frget about all the craziness in his life.

With an irritated sigh Danny realised that if he wanted even the chance of getting any answers he had to follow the man and actually TALK to him! Life was unfair to him, he decided and flew quickly after the older hybrid. He soon found himself in room bigger then the whole ground floor of his house and ostentatiously decorated with expensive furnishings.

"Marion," Vlad called and the lady appeared with a smile. Danny regarded her with a wary eye as Vlad said, "Some te…"

"Not tea," Danny almost shouted, this was getting a little too cosy and homey for his liking and his ghost sense again set him on the alert, so he abruptly cut off Vlad's sentence, "Err…I'm a coffee person…"

"Some coffee then," Vlad corrected with repressed amusement, and before Danny could say anything Marion took off for the kitchen. The older hybrid sat on his usual chair on the right hand side of the fire and crossed his legs as he watched Danny shuffle nervously. "Do sit down, Daniel," he began to find the child's nervousness rather irritating and somewhat contagious.

Danny blinked twice in confusion and silently complied. He lowered himself onto a chair opposite Vlad's slowly so that he didn't aggravate his wound and leaned back with a comforting sigh. Maybe Vlad caught it, he wasn't sure, but it didn't really matter. Vlad had seen him wounded before and so it was nothing new to the man, he was just trying not to seem too weak. He should just come out and ask the man, it wasn't that difficult; it was just a simple question!

As Vlad was arranging his thoughts Marion chose that moment to bring in a silver tray with a fresh pot of coffee and set about pouring the drink for them. "I don't suppose you **did** actually come here to inspect my groceries Daniel, so what did you come for?" Vlad asked then took the clearly expensive and delicate cup from his maid. He stood by his early guess of the boys motives, but he wasn't going to help him get there, it was more amusing to watch him struggle.

"Who attacked you?" Daniel asked, ignoring the man's obvious attempts to bait him, "What did it look like?" Disregarding his dream as just a nightmare he needed to know that Vlad was telling the truth, so he took a piece of advice given to him by his sister. He would try to read Vlad's expression and body language to determine whether he was lying or not. His previous success had been varied, but maybe he'd have more luck with Vlad…or then again maybe not.

"Why do you want to know? Have you come to gloat?" Vlad raised a speculative silver eyebrow over his coffee cup. Marion then passed to Danny the second cup of steaming coffee and with one last glance at her employer that clearly said do-not-make-a-mess, left them alone.

When Daniel failed to answer he continued, "I'm not sure what it was, Daniel, but I **am **sure that this is not to be brushed aside; it has attacked me, and it has been testing you, this is serious,"

"Sure, but what is it? You don't expect me to believe you, do you? After everything you've done to me…now it's suddenly 'serious.' What gives?" Danny shouted bitterly, his fingers tightening on the handle of his cup.

"You need to work on your anger issues child, remember if I'd wanted to trick you here in order to kill you, you would already be dead." Vlad said rather harshly as their ghostly glowing eyes locked aggressively.

"Oh, 'cuz that's **real** comforting," the boy replied after an ephemeral silence, and rolled his eyes, breaking the disconcerting eye contact.

"Daniel," Vlad cautioned the child, and continued, "recently I have entertained the possibility that it wasn't a Ghost at all, I believe it to be a collection of Spirits," he frowned at the boy's blank expression.

"What?" Danny shouted as Vlad continued to stare at him.

"You do know what a Spirit is, don't you?"

Danny's eyes shifted left and right, "…maybe…"

Without getting into a long, drawn out science lesson Vlad decided to give him the most basic, bare boned explanation he could muster; teacher-student moments would have to wait. He drew in long breath, "Basically Ghosts are left behind when a person dies, and Spirits come from the earth itself which makes them stronger than Ghosts."

"I knew that," came the muttered reply, and Danny fished off his drink, he had to admit it was really good coffee.

"Mmm-Hmm," Vlad smirked, "No doubt…but other than that I know very little; it appears that during the fight we had, it destroyed most if not all of the cameras and thus, the footage."

"So how'd you know that anything dangerous is gonna happen?"

"I use my brain, Daniel," Vlad replied with only served to infuriate the boy further, "It tested me before it attacking me, it wanted to gauge my power before presumably trying to finish me off. I managed to stop it, but…it got away,"

"Great," Danny mumbled, but it seemingly went unnoticed.

"Therefore it is highly probable that it will attack you very soon, it has already been testing you so it is only a matter of time," Vlad retorted, and put his empty cup on the side table near him.

"Okay, let's say I believe you…just for the minute…why did it attack you? And why is it gonna attack me…I haven't done anything?"

"And I have?" Vlad questioned in amusement, "…until I can discover more information I can't say anything for certain, you will just have to trust me,"

"Don't hold your breath," Vlad found Danny's bitter tone rather strange coming from him and ignored the poisonous anger shining through the boy's eyes.

"I am part ghost, Daniel, I am capable of holding my breath for a long time," Vlad replied smugly. "Besides, if you thought about it for just a moment, disregarding your mistrust for me, you would see that I am right. But you do **not **think, sometimes I really do wonder why I bother with you at all, and why it would waste its time with you is beyond me you are too weak to even…"

"**WHAT!" **Danny shouted, now he was confused, insulted and annoyed and it all showed as he yelled at the man responsible for this bad combination of emotions. He had learnt nothing from Vlad's expressions and body language save the fact that he really liked pissing him off, but Danny knew that already.

He threw his cup over at the cause of his anger, but it missed and shattered against the wall. **"Well, why do you have to be such a jerk all the time?" **he screamed, standing from his chair and glaring across at Vlad, **"Your mood swings are seriously getting on my nerves!"**

"Because you never listen!" Vlad shot back, though not nearly quite as loud and ignoring the boy's aim which had clearly been hampered by his emotions.

"**You never give me a reason to listen to you!"**

"**You stupid boy…you are indeed your father's son; you are two of the most stupid people it has EVER been my misfortune to meet!" **Vlad also stood up and glared daggers at the boy, his fists aching to burn with energy and shot it at Danny.

But of course, at this Danny lost any remaining composure and shot a powerful blast at Vlad before the man could aim, and this time he made sure not to miss. The older hybrid was momentarily taken aback and he was thrown brutally into the solid wall behind him. It hadn't been powerful enough to send crashing him through it, but Vlad felt his already aching back and ribs protesting at the further agony.

The child was being completely unreasonable and it needed to stop, for both their sakes but Vlad's judgement was slightly compromised and instead of talking rationally to prevent a fight he chose to ensure one. He hauled himself to his feet using the wall as a prop and transformed into Plasmius, then he retaliated with his own energy. Impulsively and irrationally he fired a powerful blast of concentrated energy, ten times as strong as the one he'd received. Vlad sent Danny tearing through the contrasting wall, and with a painful scream he heard the boy land painfully along aide falling masses off plaster and brick.

He was unable to see through the dust and debris his intense purple ecto-blast had created, but he moved a step forwards as a small part of his mind echoed that he may have killed Daniel. However much his anger had controlled him that wasn't what he'd intended, and he rebuked himself for letting things go like this. He was forced to shield his blood red eyes from the settling dust and he coughed lightly as he moved another step closer. As his eyes gradually adjusted he saw a shadowed figure move in the wreckage.

Danny pushed a particularly large and heavy piece of rubble off his chest and his strange wound objected to the strain. He crawled onto his knees and tried to stand up, he couldn't believe the man that had not long ago just told him to sit and listen had just thrown him through a wall. It was a seriously thick wall and it had really, really hurt! He might not be able to put up much of a fight but he was damned if he was going to let Plasmius get away with that!

He kicked more wreckage aside and stood painfully and unsteadily on his feet, he knew Vlad could see him through the dust, but it didn't matter, Danny was going to cause as much pain for Vlad as he had done for him, whether it killed him or not.

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><p><strong><em>To be continued! AHHHHH!<em>**

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><p>A.N. I really enjoyed writing about Clockwork and his 'lair' in this one, and once again I apologise if I waffled. What about the fight between Danny and Vlad? Too soon maybe? Out of character?<p>

I don't think so. Vlad and Danny wouldn't just trust each other completely therefore something plausible needed to happen and this was the only answer! And NO, I DO NOT HAVE ANGER ISSUES! It is what it is guys, don't blame me blame the characters! :D

~ ~ Till next time people ~ ~


	7. Explosive Consequences

A.N. First off, thank you to everyone who reviewed and 'favourite'd' (yes I know that isn't a word) my story; it is good to know that I must be doing something right if people actually like it. I've had over 1,000 hits for this so far, that's loads more than I expected! So thanks guys.

Secondly; any info in this story on the lives of the characters or their ghost powers has come from Wikipedia or …where would I be without them?** Disclaimer**; and I own neither these sites, nor Danny Phantom!

Lastly; I still think there is something wrong this this chapter, but I'm not sure what! I've never written a fight scene before but I think I did an okay job of it, its not very long but…you people shall be my judge, jury and executioners :) As for the rest of the chapter…well I think next time I will add either something to do with Danny's friends / family…but we'll see what happens…

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><p><strong>What Unusual halflives we lead<strong>

Chapter 7: Explosive Consequences

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><p>Danny stood uneasily amidst the rubble of what had only seconds ago been a solid sitting room wall and the dust that still drifted persistently in the air had further obscured his already blurring vision. He was able to distinguish Plasmius' intimidating outline and now all that mattered was beating the guy to a pulpy mush of ectoplasmic slush on the ground. With his right hand he grasped his throbbing ribs as his breathing increased with both anger and pain that refused to go away.<p>

How dare the bastard do this to him! There was no way that Vlad was gonna get away from this unscathed, but how would he do it? Vlad was stronger than him even at half power so he would need _intellectual Danny _for this one. The man had mentioned his recent 'recovery,' so maybe it wouldn't be too difficult to distract him long enough to escape. Danny was cursing every god and deity he could remember for his stupidity, he had been trying to trust Vlad hadn't he? And this was his reward? To hell with this! And to hell with Plasmius! Danny didn't care if the man was attacked right in front of him by whatever monster, ghost or spirit was out there…'cuz there was no way he would help him now.

But of course Danny was wounded too, he was tired and hungry, his long weeks of insomnia and malnourishment were taking their toll, but he was adamant that he was never going to admit it. He was NOT tired! He was NOT hungry! And he did NOT have an unidentifiable, really creepy, growing wound on his chest! GOOD! Now that that was sorted, he took several slow steps towards his arch-enemy and his hands exploded in noxious ectoplasm, it cast disturbing shadows on the damaged room and on the boy himself.

With the added light he could see Plasmius in detail, he could see the man's proud cape billowing from the after-shock of the blast, and he could see the spotless white shirt and trousers that he wore. But it was his expression that puzzled Danny the most, he expected to find a look of pure loathing, a look of hatred and abhorrence that he was so used to finding on Vlad's face. But the pale cerulean skin appeared sickly and the red eyes were hazier than he remembered…who exactly was this man that stood before him? It was only when he took a split second to look closer did he notice that the man didn't look as spotless as first he'd thought. His neat black hair seemed dishevelled and muted, and he way he stood seemed less arrogant, like standing as straight as before would hurt in some way. Maybe he really had caught Vlad by surprise and broken a rib or two with his attack; good, that was payback for insulting him and his family, and for tricking him like this.

In the meantime Vlad was having his own inner struggle, a part of him, a very vocal part of him wanted to charge at the child. Vlad wanted to fire at him and teach Daniel some respect the way he had been taught; through brute force. But was it wise to attempt this? What good would come of it? Except a little cruel satisfaction it wouldn't help in anyway, he was tired and wounded, and it was crystal clear to him that Daniel was as well. He just didn't know why? He was sure the boy could handle the late night fights; he had done so for 2 years, and he hadn't had time to ask before Daniel's explosive outburst. Maybe he had provoked the child, but his pride demanded that he see this fight through. So he readied himself for a fight, sensing that Daniel was doing the same he felt his palms ignite with small but powerful electrical ectoplasm and flexed his gloved fingers.

His eyes narrowed as the boy flew clear of the debris to hover over the ground and their respective energies lit up the room. He could see a calculative glint in Daniel's eyes and he smiled; years of being unambiguous rivals had at least taught the child something of use, however unintentionally it may have been learnt. And he was prepared as two circling discs of green energy came flying towards him from above. He fired back and the two colliding energies met with a flamboyant explosion of green and purple ectoplasm.

With a yell of surprise Vlad realised that they had both put a lot of energy into a single blast as they were both pushed back from the recoiling explosion. It created a blinding flash of light and they both were forced to shield their sensitive eyes. Vlad recovered instantly and watched as Danny flew straight towards him; he reacted quickly enough to make them both intangible so that they went harmlessly through the wall and landed on his front lawn. His house had been through enough damage for now.

Danny was furious as the two of them crashed onto Vlad's lawn; he thought for sure that first blast would have done some damage. But no, all it had done was make the man more prepared for his next attack, and now he knew he was doomed. He let out a moan of discomfort as his aching muscles met solid ground and he clamped his eyes shut to combat the pain. A bad idea considering it was Plasmius he was fighting but he couldn't help it; he was always getting thrown through solid walls and onto hard ground…granted grass was softer than brick but it still really hurt. Danny forced his eyes open and they began to glow a ghostly blue as he sent out two blasts of ice energy at Vlad.

The man groaned as he recognised the child's vexatious cryogenic powers heading towards him and he was forced to fly away from Danny to avoid the glowing energy aimed at him. He still wasn't sure that beating the child in a fight would be the right thing to do. But perhaps if he could get Daniel to stop attacking and listen to him…he would have to get him to change back into his human half, and the only way he could do that was by exhausting the child. Not his best plan but it would have to do for now.

So immediately, he fired a weak mauve lightning blast at Danny, the feeble energy drew closer to the boy and his eyes widened in recognition and surprise. Before he could act the blast hit its target and Vlad listened as Danny shrieked on contact, no matter how weak the electricity it still always managed to cause some damage. It was nature of the energy; harmful and sadistic. Vlad supposed in some warped kind of way he was well suited to it.

Vlad ceased his attack as Daniel trembled on his knees and was forced back onto the ground. It seemed that Vlad's sitting room wall and lightning attack had had more of an effect on him than he wanted to believe. Danny curled himself into a foetal position with his knees drawn up to his forehead and his arms shielding his chest. Out of routine habit a strong glowing ecto-shield appeared to protect his aching body while he attempted to force the pain to the back of his mind. He imagined the enemy; Plasmius would easily get past his shield with little effort so that left him with precious little time to pull himself together. But it was easier said than done, as he felt like he was suddenly burning from the inside out.

Danny had never experienced anything like this before in his life. He never did well in the heat but this was ridiculous! Was this a new cruel effect of the man's ectoplasmic lightning that he'd wanted to test? But nothing else mattered anymore; not Vlad and his stupid 'spirit' problem, or their stupid fight…just the intense heat that continued to scald and blister his skin.

Vlad invisibly flew over to the boy and watched in confusion and horror as Daniel's breathing became sharper and faster. Surely their little fight hadn't caused this pitiable reaction? How had the boy suddenly developed such a violent reaction from his _weak_ attack than before? But Vlad was pulled from his musings as the weak shield Daniel had established was literally crumbling before him. The green ectoplasm was collapsing in sizeable portions that fell to the ground and seemed to singe and fizzle into nothingness, scorching the grass beneath it. What was he to do now? The boy looked to be in enough pain without his electrical energy adding to it; maybe he would pass out without Vlad having to intervene again.

"Daniel?" Vlad whispered as he visibly appeared standing in-front of the boy with a solicitous expression.

"W…what did you…d…do to me?" Danny hissed painfully through his teeth and jerked his head up to meet Plasmius' red gaze; he was too preoccupied to notice the confused expression on his enemy's face. Against his better judgement he felt his body begin to revert back to his human half as he tried to prevent it. He repeated over and over; don't change, don't change, don't…

The boy's transformation rings appeared; they were dim and dull and he watched as Daniel's expression interchanged from agony to determination. The dull rings dissolved and he was left in his ghost form; Vlad couldn't help but admire the young hybrids determination. He was all too familiar with Daniel's stubborn streak but it never ceased to remind him of himself as a young man. Another way in which the two were similar, which of course Daniel would deny. More stubbornness! The whole idea was a contradiction!

Once the ecto-shield had crumbled completely Vlad knelt down to get a better idea of what was causing the child so much distress. He could see that the black suit had been torn slightly in a few places, most likely from his sitting room wall, but it was nothing serious. With their strengthened physiques and enhanced healing abilities they could both take far more brutality than any ordinary humans. "Daniel, what's wrong with you?" he asked.

"Oh…l…like you d...don't know…isn't this like…a new p…power of yours or something…" Danny said quietly but his voice was dripping with venom and animosity. If it were possible he curled more tightly inwards and attempted to shift away from Vlad.

"No, I only intended…"

"S…save i…it…Plasmius…" Danny muttered and tried to push himself up from the ground, he wanted to fly away, he wanted to go back home, back to _Fenton Works_ where he'd be safe…or mostly safe anyway, safer than **here**. If he lost consciousness with only Vlad around who knew what the man would do to him. He managed to hover several inches off the grass but they were soon reacquainted as Danny became a victim of gravity like the rest of the population. He squinted and turned his face to gaze at the sky; it was still early morning – just around sunrise he noticed bitterly as he took in the contemptuously beautiful skyline set against a spectrum of vibrant oranges, golden yellows and molten reds.

Normally Danny loved watching the sunrise and set, they were his favourite times of day and the only ones that were fixed. They always happened, unlike his jumbled schedule of irregular ghost fights, detentions and homework. But now he was slightly bitter; if the sunrise was the last thing he was going to see before Vlad Plasmius worked on tearing him apart molecule by molecule, he would much rather have chosen his family…his friends. What kind of warped god, fate or sense of karma gave him a sunrise before his loved ones? Was this a messed up world or what? But Danny supposed he deserved it; after all it was his stupidity that had lead him here, now they would all think he had got lost in the Zone and killed there…and Vlad would never get his comeuppance!

Danny was forced back into his human form, he couldn't prevent it any longer and his vision was beginning to fade. He didn't hear the birds chirping, he didn't hear the roaring wind or even Vlad calling his name, everything was silence and blackness.

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><p>Vlad watched…he was a helpless spectator, he was as useless as the opposing kings trying to overturn each other in chess<span>.<span>**(*1)**It was never going to happen. And he was useless as Daniel finally lost all hold on reality and lost consciousness. The boys' eyes closed with a sense of disbelief and anger, most likely aimed at him, as Danny's black and white jumpsuit became shapeless denims, white t-shirt and red Converse. ©

What on earth was he supposed to do now?

For most of the past year Vlad knew that somewhere along the line he had become blinded by avarice and hatred, as a result he had stopped seeing Daniel as a protégé or a son, and first and foremost as an enemy, a rival, a mere nuisance. But was that really what he saw this child as? He had every reason in the world to hate Daniel James Fenton. He had a right to, didn't he, god damn it…why were things so complicated? The child should be Daniel James Masters; **his** beloved son - not Jack's. And Maddie should be **his** beautiful wife - not Jack's. But then, if Daniel had been his, would the boy have got ghost powers? The answer was simple. No, he would not. Vlad would have made sure his Little Badger never had to experience what he had endured; he would have kept **his** child away from his inventions and dangerous contraptions. Which reality was more beneficial to him?

But it didn't really matter either way…what Vlad was left with was an unconscious Daniel James **Fenton**; the 15 year old son of his hated 'friend' Jack, a child with a hero-complex, which he had all but given up on resolving. The question was; did he truly see the child as an enemy, as an annoyance that needed terminating? Or as a child whom he cared for as his own that needed help? There was an extensive difference between the two…so how had he gotten them so mixed up?

He groaned in anger at his own stupidity, of course he cared for the child…enough to want him as a son, enough to spend thousands trying to clone him, and enough to help him when he clearly needed it. Vlad had never thought this his weak lightning blast could cause this. Was it in fact his fault after all? Had he developed a new power that was completely unaware of? Impossible he decided, and gently lifted the slumbering teenager into his arms.

Thankfully his actions were met with no resistance, and he teleported them both in a flash of pinkish smoke back into the mansions damaged sitting room. Now that he was able to look at it, his luxurious room appeared to have been bombed by Pariah Dark himself. The seven servants now floated in human forms about the room each one surveyed the damage incredulously.

"If I've asked you once, I've asked you a thousand times; do NOT make another…" Marion began with a red and flustered face as she turned round to face her employer. But she stopped as she took note of the unconscious child in the man's arms.

"Will you just…fix the damage…?" Vlad sighed and indicated the broken wall and layer of dust that covered the room. As they had done countless times before all seven of them used their weak energies simultaneously and pieced the wall back together. With their combined telekinetic abilities the room was covered in the familiar green glow of ectoplasm, it enclosed every inch of the room. They were able to piece back every individual fragment of plaster and brick, and every speck of dust was brushed away from the furniture.

It was an effective approach to damage control and had saved him from a lot of unwanted attention in the past. If it was life or death he supposed he could do a similar thing as well, but the seven of them had weak energies that combined well as Spectrals, who were in general, more proficient at telekinetic manipulation than other ghosts. But it didn't stop Marion, Ally, and Elyn from cleaning the whole mansion from top to bottom the old fashioned way. Perhaps it was tiring for them; to fix up the messes he created to his homes, but that didn't seem to deter them.

Once the job was done he laid Daniel onto the now immaculate crème sofa, as he did so he felt something fall from the boy's pocket. The still floating Larson picked it up and unfolded a piece of flimsy paper, no doubt to check whether it was 'garden worthy.' With a look of disappointment the Spectral held it out to Vlad; clearly it wasn't to his tastes. The man stared at it in confusion, what was this? It looked like a microscopic view of a bacteria…he could tell it was ghostly, it had the faint green glow of ectoplasm, but he couldn't tell what it was.

He considered himself well versed in the sciences, both ghostly and human, but this was something that was unfamiliar to him. In all his years of study this had never been brought to his attention. A new discovery to Vlad was like Christmas is to a child and he smiled at the prospect. But what was Daniel doing with this? Should he take it analyse it himself, if he did he could satisfy both his curiosity and show the boy he cared for him? A selfish cause perhaps, but with good intentions.

So he folded it back up and pocketed it, "Inform me if the child wakes up," Vlad told them as he draped a soft fleece blanket over Daniel's sleeping form and then left for his lab. The Spectrals stared at each other for several seconds and at the prospect of having to be quiet so they didn't wake the sleeping boy for possibly hours on end they sighed collectively.

"Alright, go…I'll stay…" Ally suddenly said decisively.

"You're sure?" Marion asked with a quizzical eye.

"Mmm hmm," she nodded, appearing indifferent. With that the rest of them flew out of the room to continue their chores, and Maddie the cat, who had so often witnessed the strangeness that frequented this house, watched with wide eyes and merely added; "Meow."

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><p>Alothea's emerald gaze never wavered from the Ghost Boy's unmoving form. To a passer-by it may have merely been concern for the child. But her expression told of something different, something indistinguishable and vague. She could sense something was very wrong with the boy…something that unnerved her. She wanted desperately to look, to discover the source of her fear, but she had been compelled not to do anything of the kind. So she waited…and she watched. The boy took uneven shallow breaths and moaned in his sleep. Perhaps he was dreaming, she had forgotten what it was like to dream, when one cannot sleep one cannot dream. But at the same time she could…she just had to dream while she was awake…it was a strange cataclysm to be sure.<p>

Often she was envious of her employer, whether he saw it the same was as she did was arguable at times, but she had always believed that he and the boy were given the better of two separate worlds. To be alive and dead at the same time seemed so…incomprehensible, and perhaps a little unfair. But she had not choice in the matter, she was dead and that was that. She would play her cards as best as she could, and hope that things would work out in the end…

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><p>Vlad gazed down at an antiquated tome with a faded cover and what was once a proud crest now worn on the cover. It was one of his most prized possessions, besides his Packers memorabilia of course. It was a book written by the Ancients, worth an untold fortune in both realms, and contained more expedient knowledge than the modern internet itself . Its aged appearance was due to the fact that once out of the 'Dark Zone' the artefacts of the Ancients began to age and wither just as any other antique would. But Vlad had it well cared for. <em>'Scientia collectivu,' <em>was declared boldly on the cover, it was Latin for 'Collective Knowledge.' Many people believed that the language was of human origin from around the 6th century, but they were mistaken. Latin had been the language of the Ancients before mankind had learnt to walk, they had given humans the language; or rather **we** had taken it from **them**,however one chose to look at history. **(*2)**

Vlad had researched everything he could discover about the mysterious group of Spirits, but he had found very little considering his efforts. This book was the culmination of 4 years of hard work and a **lot** of money. It worked telepathically; based on a store of knowledge of an immeasurable variety of topics it would show the owner their desired subject knowledge. Truly it was an amazing artefact that he would never part with.

Upon reaching his lab, he had of course, had his staff clean up the mess they had made, Vlad scanned in the image of what he assumed was a bacteria and let it search for appropriate matches. But after his computer had failed he had become slightly worried, his was a super-computer, he had government access to research facilities across the globe, and it couldn't tell him what this was. It had caused a flash of panic. How had Daniel gotten hold of something that stumped a super-computer belonging to an inquisitive billionaire? He had not the faintest notion. So he had turned to his trusty _'Scientia collectivu,' _and was currently scanning the pages for any remote likeness he could find.

As his lack of result continued he began turning the pages with anger and he could practically feel the animosity rising from the book. He hadn't been kidding when he said the book had a mind. It had to store the knowledge somewhere, and if it wasn't satisfied with its owner it would show you nothing. Vlad knew as it had shown him nothing for a month until he had finally calmed down and acted rationally. It had really, really pissed him off to know that a **book **could be so annoying. But it pulled its weight so he couldn't really complain.

He surprised himself when a suddenly noticed a striking similarity between the paper and the image in the book. Was it true? He had found it! Oh how he loved the feeling of success, it was like a drug!

After hours of searching his wait was over and he leaned eagerly over the tome to read its words, in Latin of course, but like many wealthy upper-class English boys he had learnt the language many years ago at Oxford. **(*3)** And it had proven to be unexpectedly useful in his life, both before and after he immigrated to America. And now as he looked down at the book he could at least be thankful to his parents about one thing.

"_Glaciem calidum," _he read aloud with impeccable pronunciation, and basically it translated as 'hot ice,' at such a contradiction Vlad frowned in confusion, had the book gone mad? Could books even go mad? He wouldn't put anything past this thing; it did technically have a mind of its own after all. But he read on, _"A impetus ex letalis Calidae telum est iudicuim. It ardet victima manes et exterminant squod intus capax spiritus et homines. Et propter hoc incarceratum fuisse potestatedestructa." _

Okay now he was really confused, it essentially said 'A lethal attack originating from CALIDAE's weapon of judgement. It burns the victim from the inside and is capable of destroying ghosts and spirits and humans. For this reason he was imprisoned and his powers were destroyed.' What the hell was a 'Calidae?'

Once again as the book registered its owners confusion the pages began to show a sepia image that started from a shadowy splotch. After a few seconds he was staring down at the image of his previous torture. Vlad almost yelled bloody murder and wanted to throw the book down and ignore what he had seemingly discovered. But he didn't, somehow he managed to stop himself, he knew the book would no doubt favour him with another month of silence if he did so. And that would cause him some problems.

He stared down with angry red eyes at the shape of what he had learnt was called the 'Calidae,' an Ancient creature who had recently seen fit to destroy Vlad's mansion and almost taken his life. It was indeed a strange looking being to behold when you actually had the chance to study it rather than evade the thing. It had two coal black eyes and a cruel sadistic expression on its face. There were twin long spiralling horns, thin and pointed on either side of its head and its skin was an intimidating shade of coal black. The beast had no legs; instead it seemed to favour a spectral tail that spiralled with white and black air. On its fingers it had long claws and in its right hand there rested a long black staff with a glowing golden sphere at the top. And there lay the tattered remains of a purple hooded cloak on his neck and shoulders.** (*4)**

Altogether it gave of an image of power and majesty, intimidation and pride mixed together to create a powerful create that must have caused enough damage to make the Ancients intervene. The only instance he knew of where that had happened had been with Pariah Dark, and that had only been as a last resort, so this Calidae must be one serious customer. With a look of trepidation discovery Vlad left the book safely locked away and decided it was time to check on the Ghost Child sleeping on his couch.

* * *

><p>A.N. I really put Danny through a lot in this one huh? Am I a teeny tiny bit sadistic d'you think? Oh well, things will improve…eventually. And I am no longer just writing a load of random crap, I worked on my plot and I think I actually have a system now. Next time I will try to work the other way round!<p>

* * *

><p><strong>(*1)<strong> for anyone who doesn't know the rules to chess it is basic that the two kings cannot checkmate each other as they can only move along their own coloured ranks and files – the squares on the board.

**(*2)** I used Latin because I couldn't be bothered to come up with my own language, it would be too tiresome and I don't have an unlimited amount of time to write, so Latin it was. Also I think it's a beautiful language. It just sounds so archaic and I think it eclipses very well, the way I imagine the Ancients to be.

**(* 3)** I decided to make Vlad English because personally I think he sort of sounds it in the cartoon and I have read plenty of fics where he is like German or Russian or whatever, and I wanted to be different! On Wiki it does suggest that he has some Russian descent and I may add this in on later chapters, maybe just hinted, but I don't think this will be too important in my story though. Maybe his mother's father's grandfather or something was an Orthodox Slavic immigrant in the Industrial Revolution. Or from the Russian Revolutions and they had a tradition of keeping family names hence his name Vladimir, which by the way I LOVE! But we'll see…

**(*4) **Not sure if anyone remembers what the, what I call the 'Ancients' look like. In the episode 'Reign Storm' when Skulker explains about the 'last ditch effort to defeat Pariah Dark...' But they were green skeletons with purple cloaks. The tattered rags on the Calidae are meant to echo this!

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><p><strong>Until we meet again; <strong>**au revoir, mes chers lecteurs!**


	8. Normality is in the Eye of the Beholder

A.N. Originally this was just going to be one really, really long updated chapter together with the last chapter, but I think it worked out better this way. As intended I am now adding a bit of the day to day lives of other people besides Danny and Vlad, they will have some bearing on the story! So let me know what you think.

In case anyone is wondering or hasn't been paying much attention it is now Saturday in the story and the school kids are on vacation or a break or a holiday or whatever it's called in America. Therefore Jazz is home for a while and Danny and his friends still have homework but there is no school for a while, it just makes it easier for the story.

If someone is feeling generous you could tell me the different times of year that American school kids have breaks from school.

But anyway, you know the drill; read and review people…read and review…

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><p><strong>What Unusual halflives we lead<strong>

Chapter 8: Normality is in the Eye of the Beholder

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><p>It was now around 9 in the morning and all was normal in the Fenton household…well y'know as normal as they could be in <em>Fenton Works.<em> Jazz was in the sitting room working on her college studies with several books open for references and a growing essay on her knee. It was work for her latest project; she called it _'How abnormal paternal stimuli can affect your child's cognitive development,'_ and her professors were extremely impressed with her work so far.

She had tried various methods of distracting herself from worrying about her little brother; despite the fact that she knew he could take care of himself, and he was stronger than most people and yada yada yada…He was still her baby brother and she would always worry about him, whether he liked it or not. But working on her studies helped to alleviate some of her stress.

She had told her parents that Danny was visiting his friends and as always they took little notice and asked few questions…she knew they cared, in their own way. At the present moment Maddie and Jack Fenton were working in their lab on their new invention the _Fenton Flute. _It was, Jazz had gathered, a traditional shaped flute but it was three times the size of a regular one and made of steel. It was meant to work in a similar way to the German folktale's 'Pied Piper' to attract Ghosts for them to use as target practice. Fortunately though, it was still a work in progress, as it would undoubtedly cause Danny a lot of trouble.

The noises coming from the downstairs lab continued; a chorus of clattering, shouting, hammering and crashing; the never ending symphony of invention that she and her brother had grown up to, listening to it day after day, night after night. She would prefer that they would choose a quieter, less expensive hobby, more so now with their little…well not so little…financial crisis. But it was unlikely to happen.

And it always concerned her that her parents were daily making weapons to harm Danny…but they were **still** unaware of the fact that their son was their main source of target practice! But it wasn't her place to tell them, and she couldn't betray Danny's trust like that. So she kept quiet; she said nothing when her father and mother showed her a new weapon that would hurt Danny. She was silent when they were discussing ghost dissections - molecule by molecule, or even when they wanted to vaporise a ghost…particularly the Ghost Boy, whom they had dubbed a local menace…that one still hurt. But they didn't listen when she tried to convince them that Danny Phantom was no menace, and it irritated her that they were so closed minded when it came to ghosts.

They were supposed to be Ghost experts but they didn't realise that Ghosts had feelings, they had emotions likes any other human being, Danny had told her that people become Ghosts because they are afraid to die and leave the world behind. So couldn't her parents see that because of that, ghosts could be happy, they could be sad or hurt just as people could? It was a constant source of curiosity to her; what would happen of her parents knew the truth? She hoped that they would still love Danny; she knew they would, but would things change between them? After all, if they learnt that Ghosts did in fact have emotions would they stop hunting them? Jazz highly doubted it. They were good parents and they loved their children dearly, but they also loved ghost hunting, it was their passion, their obsession, if they were ghosts it would be all too clear to see it.

She then heard a loud knock at the door and was jolted away from her thoughts, "Coming," Jazz shouted and stood to answer the door. She opened it and saw Sam and Tucker standing on the top step, they entered and she closed the door quietly. "Something wrong?" she asked then went back to her place on the couch.

The two friends followed and sat opposite her on the vacant chairs "Where's Danny?" Sam asked surprised that he wasn't already running down the stairs, with his enhanced hearing he would have known that they were here.

"He told me he was going to the Ghost Writer's library; you guys are his alibi again, so you better hide if my parents come in and see you here without him." Jazz replied as she glanced over at them.

"Dude's been spending way too much time in that library," Tucker sighed.

"I know, but he's been trying to…" Jazz began but tried a different approach, "Has he told either of you about a wound he got recently. I had him show me last night and it looked like…it was black like stone or something…"

"…no…" they shook their heads simultaneously and their eyes reflected their bewilderment.

"Oh," she sighed, "I'm worried about him,"

"You always worry about him, Jazz…" Sam smiled at Jazz.

"So do you," the college student shot back and Sam blushed.

"Ah, she's got you there, Sam," Tucker laughed and Sam elbowed her friend in the shoulder, "Hey…okay okay…chillax dude!"

"He's hardly been eating and he never gets any sleep anymore and now this…nothing ever goes right for him, does it?" Jazz sighed.

"I know, but it's not like we can force him to eat and sleep Jazz, and it's not like Danny needs as much of it as we do, so he shouldn't be too…" Tuck began, he was as worried for his friend too, but he had talked to Danny about it and the guy had just flown off, literally. He knew the Fenton's were having a hard time financially, but it seemed that only the Fenton children really cared or tried to do something about it. Sometimes he really worried for Danny.

"He's still human though, Tucker, he **needs **them as much as we do to survive, and he's not getting them, he'll get hurt if he carries on like this…hell…he already has." The valedictorian sighed in frustration. "And I don't know what to do…"

"Well, when he comes back you call us and we'll all attack him together," Sam smiled and Tucker grinned.

"Yea, we can use the _Fenton Thermos_, and shout at him…err the ghost can hear you when they're stuck inside that thing, right?"

"I think so," Jazz gave a small smile, "You can stay if you want…"

"No, we're his alibi remember, we'd better go and leave you to your…err… psychology crap…I mean **interesting **study…" Tucker grinned and the two of them let themselves out leaving Jazz alone to her thoughts again.

She sighed at the prospect, picked up one of her favourite books and began to read. What a strange life she led!

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><p>Once outside Tucker and Sam shared a worried look, "I'll try his cell," Sam immediately said and they began to slow walk to her house as she dialled the number she knew by heart. An automated voice told her that the mobile phone in question was switched off and told her to leave a message. "Switched off…" she muttered angrily and put her black phone back in her pocket. She was always telling him to leave his cell on for instances like this, but he never listened, he really annoyed her sometimes.<p>

"I'm sure he's fine, Danny's got ghost powers…what could happen?" Tucker asked waving his hands in the air, hoping that he wouldn't get an unfortunate answer to that question in the future.

"He better be," the Goth girl replied angrily, and they made their way over to her parents' house to avoid the clear overcast sky that would no doubt mean a lot of rain was heading their way.

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><p>It was now around midday and Vlad had increased the protection on his mansion; he had strengthened the Ghost Shield which theoretically would now repel powerful Spirits too…so it would be needing a new name…maybe a kind of <em>Ethereal Barricade<em>…or…a…never mind, it would have to wait…and his new security systems were up and running as well. He had decided to spend his time doing something useful after it had become all too clear that Daniel wasn't going to wake up anytime soon. Vlad had watched the boy sleeping on his best couch with a concerned expression as he easily inferred that Daniel was extremely tired.

He would have moved the boy into one of the spare bedrooms, but it was easier for him and his staff to keep an eye on the boy if they were always walking into and out of the room he was sleeping in, silently of course, as he knew all too well the effects of sleep deprivation. Plus, he knew that when the boy woke up he would try to leave, but Vlad wanted to talk to him when he woke. He needed to ask some questions, and he couldn't do that if the child ran away from him. Maybe he should call Maddie and let her know that her child was here with him, just in case she got worried. Nah. He would wait to see if they called him, it was not his problem, and no doubt his sister and friends were used to 'covering for him' as the kids say, by now.

He was sat in his chair alternating between 4 very substantial folders; there was one of important paperwork of recent mayoral legislation that he still needed to read and memorise within a week, and it was no small folder either! Under that were 3 other folders one for each of his major companies, one addressed to the President and Founder of VladCo Incorporated, another for the President and Founder of DALV Industries, and the final one for the Owner of Axion Technologies. So it was safe to say that Vladimir Masters had his share of homework too, but such was the price of success. He knew the ins and outs of each company and of his city; it may be a useless backwater dump, but **he** was the King of this chess set and no-one, Pawn, Knight, Bishop or otherwise was taking him out of the game. And life was a game; all that mattered was winning it.

He had enough to occupy his time, as he could do no more on the 'Spirit Issue' until the child awoke so he took a sip of his favourite and expensive Earl Grey Tea as he continued to send surreptitious glances at the sleeping child. Daniel wouldn't thank him if he opted to rouse him, and Vlad would have a hard enough job trying to explain that it wasn't his fault that Danny had passed out…for once.

So he waited, he read his files; and Vlad liked to think that he was an extremely patient man, so when the child finally awoke around half 4 in the afternoon his persistence was rewarded.

Danny slowly became aware of his surroundings and besides the fact that he was very comfortable he distinctly heard the familiar sound of pouring raindrops hammering against windowpanes…it was a reassuring sound, he quite liked it. He also heard the crackling sound of an open log fire…he could smell it with his heightened senses and he listened to each minute hissing and fizzing sound that emanated from it. Together they provided a calming choir of harmony that contrasted momentously to the uproar and commotion he had grown up with.

But the open fire meant that he couldn't be at home…he was forced to acknowledge that he had done something really rather stupid. Oh, he was such an idiot…he'd never hear the end of this from Jazz, or Sam, or Tuck.

But wait…he could still think, he still could hear…he could feel a soft blanket over him and all of his limbs were…aching but still intact. He could feel, what had become the familiar pang of hunger and the twinge of the curious injury on his torso. That was both good and bad. It was good because the pain let him know that he was still alive, and it was bad because it meant that everything had **not** been a dream...and of course it hurt. So it was with great effort he opened his tired eyes and his hazy vision was forced into focus.

He saw Vlad, sitting directly opposite him in a chair matching the upholstery, the man was reading from a huge wad of papers on a table and was drinking, what he guessed from the smell was some fancy kind of tea. Danny glanced out of the window to see that his senses had indeed been correct, it was pouring down with rain, they hadn't had a downpour this bad for a while. And he was thankful he was not out flying in it, maybe he could prolong his stay here and not provoke Vlad into kicking him out till it stopped. Which was worse; a Mad Vlad or a squelchy young hybrid? At the moment Danny wasn't sure, so he continued to look around.

An open fire had always been comforting to Danny. He never found out why, especially now that he had a ghostly essence that was ice based. But he wasn't really bothered. They had always calmed him down, and when he was little he had often begged his parents to take him camping just so they could light a fire in the woods. Many a time he had wanted a huge fireplace like this one in their house, they did have a small one originally but it was nowhere near as grand as this. And it had been replaced by an electric fire last Christmas when his mom had convinced his Dad that Santa could just as easily use the door because they were apparently in desperate need of a new one. Was it healthy for a teenager like him to be so preoccupied with a simple aspect of a room's interior design? Sam used to joke that he should take it up as a career; he could be a sitting room designer god by day and Danny Phantom by night. The idea was funny in theory, but it wasn't really that appealing to him.

But it was still more likely to happen than his old dream of joining NASA to be an astronaut! It was **still** just an old dream, wasn't it? Why would he need to join now, he could go into space with just a space helmet and without a rocket, if he practiced long enough maybe he would be able to hold his breath indefinitely like Plasmius and…oh right…Plasmius…how could he have forgotten…but the guy was like the _Fenton Boooo-merang_…or a bad smell, he always came back to haunt him. Pun intended!

His attention was returned to the hybrid in question and it seemed Vlad had noticed that he was awake. "Thanks a lot, Plasmius, another headache…and back ache…just what I need…" Danny muttered as best as he could but he found that the single sentence took a lot of him.

"I had to get you to stop attacking me somehow, didn't I?" the man replied stoically.

"Oh, and a throwing me through a wall and electrocution were like the best ideas you had huh?" Danny replied angrily then coughed at the strain.

"Possibly not, but what I did was not enough to cause you such damage," Vlad replied tersely and put down his folder on Axion Industries, he pulled out the paper from his suit jacket and lifted it so that the boy could see it, "Where did you get this?" he asked, and immediately he scrutinized Daniel's shocked expression.

"Hey, that's mine," Danny shouted indignantly and tried to sit up, but he failed and winced as the skin jerked painfully on his chest.

"Yes, yes…moving on, Where. Did. You. Get. It?" Vlad repeated with urgency.

"Err…science project…we were supposed to…" he muttered and refused to meet Vlad's eyes, which he guessed were probably red with anger…literally.

"Stop lying for once and just…" Vlad decided to change tactics, it couldn't hurt, "Would you like to know what it is?" he grinned at the suddenly shocked look that took over the child's features. Ah, sweet success!

"How did you…"

"I have my ways. Now how about a deal; _quid pro quo_, remember Daniel, you tell me where and how you found it, and I will tell you what it is? Deal?"

"But then I'm telling you two things and you're only giving me one…" Danny replied leaning back onto the soft couch with closed eyes; damn this thing was like, the best couch in the history of couches! And everything felt so much more soothing when he closed his eyes.

"Very clever, Little Badger," Vlad chuckled, the child could learn, it was nice…and comforting to know that Daniel was not a lost cause after all, "But not quite, not only do I know what this is…I know **what** it came from…so it is 'tittle for tattle' as they say…" he hoped Daniel had enough energy to stay awake, things were just getting interesting.

"…uh…who says that anyway…" Danny said as he tried to keep himself from screaming from his wound. He needed to keep it secret from Vlad; it meant he was weak and vulnerable! "You…you go first…" he said, if he knew where it had come from maybe he could make up a more believable lie, if he was very, very lucky.

"I don't think so, Daniel,"

"Hey…you owe me. You threw me threw through a wall for crying out loud…and you…" he turned and noticed the now solid wall but continued, "…and you knocked me out!"

"I told you, I didn't shock you enough to make you…"

"Sure…you expect me to believe that?"

"YES!" Vlad shouted and slammed down his tea cup with excessive force.

"Well excuse me if I don't believe every word you say, after all you have such a great track record for telling the truth…" Danny was becoming increasingly agitated. He had been incapacitated on his enemy's couch for god only knows how long and now Vlad wanted Danny to believe that he was adamant that it wasn't his fault! But then the older hybrid did **seem** sincere…maybe he was….no, no. This was Vlad…his enemy Vlad Plasmius did not act sincere…ever. He was evil and manipulative!

Vlad sighed, maybe if he told the child something Danny would believe him, so he decided to take a gamble, "It is called '_Glaciem calidum_' and it is a…I suppose you could call it an ethereal disease…or a parasite." He stood and walked over to the couch then handed the paper back to the shell-shocked youth who only took it in stunned silence. "It originates from an Ancient creature called the 'Calidae' and it is designed to burn the victim from the inside…"

"It…er…it sounds nasty then…" Danny said nervously and gazed blankly at the image.

"Certainly," Vlad nodded and went back to the table and finished the dregs of his tea.

"And…er…what happens to whoever…catches it?"

"Death," Vlad answered simply and frowned at the child's sudden intake of shocked breath as he did so. "So where exactly did you find it?" He had a vague notion, but he prayed he was wrong…maybe one of the child's family or friends had contracted it somehow…or perhaps…

"I…er...how long does it take to kill someone?"

"I haven't the faintest idea, Daniel," Vlad replied and narrowed his eyes at the child. He seemed…scared. "Why do you wish to know?"

"No reason…I'm just y'know…I'm a teenager I'm nosy by nature…and I…" Danny stuttered with a shrug.

"Daniel, tell me the truth… I cannot help if you lie to me,"

"Why would you want to help me?" Danny suddenly asked and lowered the paper on his chest. He was still lying down, he wanted to sit up but such a feat seemed impossible at the moment.

"You don't believe me?" Vlad raised a sly eyebrow.

"Nope," Danny answered his voice dripping with uncertainty as he met Vlad's gaze.

"Why not take the chance?"

Danny wanted to shout 'Because I already did and look what happened! Because you never give me a reason to trust you or take the small chance that you would help me!' Or simply, 'Because I don't understand you!' But he was afraid if he did then Vlad would kick him out in the rain…he was afraid that Vlad was telling the truth about the Glac…whatever it was and he was going to die…But would Vlad have lied, the man didn't know that Danny had the wound and it was **him** who was going to snuff it if it was true. So therefore he had no reason to lie to him, right?

He was used to taking risks, he took several risks every day, but this one was different, at least Danny thought it was different.

"I suggest you don't waste time if it is serious, Daniel," Vlad's surprisingly gentle voice pulled Danny violently from his thoughts and he blinked once…twice…thrice in confusion at the man who now seemed a world away from the angry dude who had fought him so many times before. How quickly could creepy rich dudes have a personality change? Jazz would probably say Vlad had something like Multiple Personality Disorder and give a long speech about what had caused it and how they should treat it.

"How do I know you won't…I don't know… I…I should leave; I don't know why I came here in the first place…" Danny said, his voice muffled by the thick blanket. He hissed quietly and finally was able to push himself into a sitting position; he was extremely mortified at how pathetic he must seem right now.

But he had lied…again. He knew exactly why he had come here. Danny wanted to be able to rely on someone to watch his back, someone to count on when things looked like they were in the shit. He was tired of feeling like he was on his own…His parents couldn't fully do that because he couldn't even bring himself to admit he was half-ghost to them, it would change too much. They would be forced to change their whole outlook on ghosts and it would just create too much havoc for them. He didn't want them to see him as different; they saw him as a normal **human** teenage boy. Not a half-ghost crossbred with a hero-complex and a habit for talking to himself when he was lonely at night.

His friends couldn't keep up with his stamina so he was often alone at night on his hunts for 'unfriendlies,' so it had left him with a lot of time to think and no one to voice his thoughts to. And besides, if he forced Sam and Tuck to stay up till 3 every morning especially on a school night he doubted that either of them would be very pleased with him. He knew they really helped him sometimes, and he did count on them for a lot of things in life. But it wasn't enough. It wasn't their fault, they were his best friends and they would be for the rest of his life. But something was still missing.

And with Jazz living miles away at College he couldn't…wouldn't bother her with his problems, he refused to be the reason for his sister flunking out of a brilliant career because he wussed out on his powers. She would one day be a proud, successful, accomplished psychologist…and he wasn't going to let anything stand in the way of that, even himself. She deserved success and she deserved recognition for her talents, even if they did annoy the hell out of him sometimes…that was what siblings were for after all.

Then that left Vlad. The two of them had a strange association…and Danny didn't understand it. From the first instant they had met he had believed the two of them would be enemies for ever. Vlad would always create trouble and Danny would have to stop it, and the cycle would repeat again and again. That was how things were meant to work. At least he thought they were. Now he was having second thoughts, with precious little leisure time lately maybe he did need someone to help him after all…although how exactly Vlad would help him, or even if he would help him was a mystery to Danny.

"Well…what if…someone was er…y'know a…victim of that glaci…whatever you called it…" Danny began as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously with his left hand.

"_Glaciem calidum_" Vlad corrected with a slight smile threatening to emerge.

"Yeah…err let's say that…hypothetically…" Danny glanced at Vlad to see the man's reaction and was not disappointed to see him smile, "…someone had a err…problem with it,"

"What sort of problem are we talking about here…theoretically of course?"

"An injury…a pretty bad one…what would you do?"

"Does this person have a name?" Vlad fought to suppress a smile, but he was curious as to what the child was clearly torn between telling him and keeping it quiet.

"Maybe," Danny answered quietly.

"Maybe…hmm…" Vlad repeated, he sat back down and lifted one leg over the other and crossed his arms in amusement. He was beginning to see the difficulty in being serious when Daniel insisted on this foolishness.

Danny was about to reply when he heard a clock strike 5 o'clock, it was loud and it was enough to remind him that he had been sleeping an awfully long time. "Oh god…how long have I been here…" he muttered and pulled his eyes away from Vlad to search his pockets for his phone. He visibly slouched when, to his dismay he found it switched off…Sam was going to kill him" "…shit…" he said and Vlad smirked at the child's inventive vocabulary.

Danny moaned when he saw that he had over 40 missed calls from Sam, Tuck and Jazz over the last few hours and he checked the 36 new texts. The first were simply asking him where he was and the more recent ones contained several imaginative threats, mainly from Sam, ordering him to answer his phone and come back. He let out a quiet chuckle at them; leave it to Sam to sound like she was worried and threaten him in the same sentence.

He jumped about 10 feet in the air when the cell phone rang as if on cue, and he tossed it back and forth between his hands to stop it from crashing onto the floor.

"Hello…" he said, and didn't have to wait for a reply. He was well aware that Vlad would hear every word of the conversation with his enhanced hearing but he was particularly oblivious when he heard Tucker speak.

"Oh…Danny, dude, you are in serious trouble…you better hang up before…" he heard Tucker shout, then he heard a loud yell and then all hell broke loose.

"Did he answer…is he there…DANIEL JAMES FENTON!" Sam bellowed and he really did drop the phone this time. It landed with a crash, but fortunately it was unbroken, that thing really did deserve a medal for everything it had been through.

"Uh-oh," he muttered and the shouting continued from the phone on the floor. Danny just stared at it incredulously like it was a deadly weapon about to vaporise him, while Vlad was forcing himself not to burst out laughing. After Danny shot him an angry look he shrugged and picked up his folder again.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO KEEP YOUR CELL PHONE ON?" Sam continued and Danny reached down to pick it up.

"Sam, I…"

"YOU REALLY, REALLY PISS ME OFF, YOU KNOW JAZZ HAS BEEN WORRIED SICK ABOUT YOU…AND WE…

"I really think…" he tried again but he was once more interrupted by loud shouting which echoed in his sensitive ears.

"WE'VE BEEN WORRYING ALL DAY, SINCE YOU DIDN'T TELL US ANYTHING…AND WHAT THE HELL WAS JAZZ TALKING ABOUT WHEN SHE SAID YOU GOT HURT…"

At that Vlad lifted a curious eyebrow as he feared that his suspicions were correct, but maybe he was just jumping to conclusions.

"Sam, I'm not hurt, my phone is on NOW, and I'm talking to you right now…I'm fine…now can we…lower the decibels just a little bit…" Danny sighed.

"Fine…but you are so dead when I see you again. So did you find what you wanted at the library?"

"Yeah…the…err…the library…" a nervous smile overtook the boys features, and Vlad hid his face behind his papers.

"Did you find anything?" Sam repeated and Danny's eyes flickered about the room like a cat caught in the headlights.

Danny shot a look over at Vlad and debated about whether or not he should say anything, "Yeah…I…err…I did…"

"So…tell me…"

"It's…nothing…nothing to worry about really," he lied; he seemed to be doing that an awful lot lately. But he would need to be convincing to fool Sam even on the phone…she was not stupid and she could normally tell when he was lying.

"Are you sure about that, Danny?"

"Mm-hm, totally 100 percent sure," Danny replied with a steady voice, which he had dubbed hatefully his lying voice. He wasn't proud of it. But he didn't want them to worry, especially since he wasn't quite sure what he was up against yet. "Now quit worrying, I'll see you later, okay,"

"Fine, but don't think you're off the hook mister," she sighed reluctantly.

"Okay, sure fine, just cover for me till I can get back, okay…see you," Danny sighed and glanced over at Vlad, "Don't say a word," he warned the man with an accusatory finger.

"And what exactly would I say, Daniel?" Vlad asked innocently.

"I don't know…something stupid about me getting shouted at by my friend…who, by the way happens to be a girl…but for the thousandth time is NOT my girlfriend!" maybe that should be his catchphrase or something, he was so tired of having to explain it to everyone. Sam didn't like him like that, or at least he thought she didn't…he had too much crap to worry about right now he didn't want to add to the list.

"I didn't say that," Vlad smiled.

"'Course you did, everyone does and you…wait…you didn't?" Danny blinked at him.

"I didn't," Vlad repeated.

"Oh man, now I'm hearing things…great…" he muttered and was tempted to fall back onto the couch and go back to sleep. But then he remembered that this was Vlad's house and to do so would be tantamount to signing his own death warrant. So he settled for glaring daggers at said couch like it was somehow its fault that it belonged to Vlad.

This seemed to make Vlad chuckle, "You still haven't held up your end of the deal, Daniel," he reminded the boy, "What was your…friend…saying about you getting hurt?" he refrained only from saying 'girlfriend' because he was more likely to get an answer if he didn't try to piss the child off.

"I get hurt all the time, Vlad, it's nothing new," Danny shrugged and put the phone back in his pocket.

"Then why the sudden interest in that?" he indicated the paper still lying on the couch.

"Just curiosity, I told you…I just found it at home and I wanted to know what it was," the boy answered, and it was clearly a blatant lie.

" I thought it was a science project, you're lying again, you can't fool me so easily as everyone else; better try again,"

Danny sighed in frustration and turned his eyes to the open fire and away from Vlad and his 'know-it-all' attitude. "Daniel, the thing that attacked me was the same thing that this came from; The Calidae, I'm not lying to you, nor am I simply making this up."

Danny was torn between a rock and a hard place, or at least that's how he saw it, and his stomach was really hurting now, it was becoming unbearable, and he heard the faint noises that once again signified his hunger. "Look, Vlad…" he muttered and wrapped his arms round his stomach in pain.

It was safe to say that Vlad noticed the child's strange behaviour and raised an eyebrow in confusion and amusement as he asked; "Hungry, Daniel?" Vlad smiled as the child refused to look him in the eye. Perhaps if he showed the boy he was trying to help, Daniel would see sense.

"No," Danny lied, but his traitorous stomach continued its betrayal.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," he replied adamantly, but Vlad was having none of it apparently.

The older hybrid walked out of the room and called for Marion to bring him an early supper, he didn't usually eat this early, but it seemed he was going to have to make an exception. She informed him that the cooks had prepared a beef wellington with mushroom gravy, potatoes and asparaguses, and he relished the shocked expression she gave when he informed her that Daniel would be staying for supper.

To say Danny himself was shocked would be an understanding, although the food he heard the maid describing sounded really good. But then, since he hadn't really had a proper meal for a long time, any food sounded better than it probably was.

"There's no way I'm staying here," he said as Vlad re-entered the room.

"And why's that?"

"'Cuz it's just too…" Danny wasn't sure what it was. Oh, it was definitely weird, but it was strange seeing Vlad act like this, the man had to be up to something. He never did anything without expecting something in return or plotting something.

"I take it you're not hungry then," Vlad said, and indicated that Danny should follow him as he walked back through the door and through the foyer. Danny groaned as he realised that he should follow the man. How many times did you get a billionaire offering you food that was probably worth hundreds in a fancy restaurant that he could never afford? And he was really hungry. No-one else needed to know…

He followed Vlad into what he assumed was the dining room and he was not wrong. It was a huge room that looked more like a place of business than a homely sitting room. With one wall dedicated to another huge fireplace and a plasma screen resting on the wall above it, and an outside wall of French doors opening out onto a patio and into the garden. Marion was already waiting with another woman in a similar dress whom Danny didn't recognise, they both held a white square plate full of food. And it smelt really, really good, damn it!

Danny followed Vlad's lead and sat down as the food was placed on the table in front of them, there was silver cutlery and silk napkins already out and Danny rolled his eyes at the unnecessary extravagance of minute detail in this place.

Vlad watched as Danny practically inhaled the food in front of him, the child was clearly starving, and he couldn't help but wonder how long it had been since he's had a decent meal. But then, perhaps it was just the way all teenagers were these days, hungry and lacking in table manners.

Danny finished long before Vlad and was now looking around the room awkwardly. What was he doing here? He shouldn't have stayed; he should just get up and go. Damn his parents for raising him with a conscience, because now something was nagging in the back of his mind. Usually when someone offered you food you thanked them. But this was Vlad! It was just too weird for his tastes. However, he couldn't find it in him to complain, the meal had been too good, and he hadn't been able to turn his nose up at it either, much to his annoyance.

Neither of them had said a word during the meal and now that Vlad had finally put down his cutlery on an empty plate, Danny's sense of discomfort increased. But he was surprised again when his phone rang again and he flipped it open as he noticed the caller ID, "What's up, Sam?" he asked.

"Danny, I don't know where you are, but you better get you butt here fast," Sam sounded frantic and panicked, and she never got frantic and panicked, so now he was slightly concerned.

"Why?"

"There's something wrong with your house, man," Tucker shouted, "Jazz called us a minute ago and she said there was a power cut, but the rest of the city is fine, but we can't get through to her now and…" here Tucker was cut off by Sam.

"…Then there was like…an earthquake, and now there's a huge shadow thing round _Fenton Works, _you better come look." Sam said, and continued, "We're just round the corner and it's like…only your has had a total black out and there's loads of noise…I don't know if you can hear it or not from the phone but it's really creepy."

"Has the ghost shield gone up?" Danny asked, already fearing the answer.

"No," Sam replied.

"Alright, just don't go in, go back home and I'll come and check it out okay, promise me Sam,"

"What's going on, Danny…"

"Just…go home…please Sam…" he begged and breathed a sigh of relief when she agreed, however reluctantly.

"Okay, but you have to tell us everything later," as she finished speaking Danny quickly snapped the phone shut and glanced at Vlad. He knew that man had heard every word and that he needed to fly over to _Fenton Works_ ASAP.

"I have to go," Danny said to him and stood from the table.

Vlad nodded once in agreement, and was debating what he should do. Should he help the child? Neither of them were at full power and he suspected that both of them would be easily beaten if the Calidae had returned to Amity Park. So all he said was; "Good luck," he was sure Daniel wouldn't accept his help anyway.

"…err…thanks for…supper…" Wow, saying that sounded so weird when the recipient was Vlad! He morphed into Danny Phantom, flew through the roof and into the pouring rain to his home leaving a conflicted Vlad behind.

* * *

><p>Three people wandered in the darkness, each one armed with an array of anti-ghost weaponry. They had been separated from each other and now Jazz was meandering through a pitch black room. The last thing she remembered was her parents running into the room shouting something about an incoming attack and her dad tossing something at her to protect herself with…but…after that it was unclear. Had there been a power cut? Yes…she had called…someone…it annoyed her that she couldn't remember what had happened merely a few minutes ago. Or had it been longer?<p>

But the _Fenton Works Anti-Creep Mode _hadn't been activated, so it couldn't be anything serious, she hoped. None the less she gripped the _Fenton Bazooka _like it was the most important world and squinted to try to see through the darkness. She had no idea where her parents had gone. She had no idea if she was even in her house anymore. And she had no idea if there was anyone here.

Jazz was freaking out. But she was smart, she would not lose it. Then she heard a low growl, it grew louder and louder until she swore she could feel something breathing down her neck. But when she spun round and fired the weapon there was nothing there.

The dim glow that came from the ecto-goop fired by the bazooka allowed her to catch a small glimpse of her surroundings…then she heard the growl again and she screamed…

* * *

><p>A.N. WOW! This by far has got to be my favourite chapter, what about you? They say a good writer always leaves you wanting more, do I? I suppose this is a kind of 'sandwich' chapter, it starts with the Fenton's, then Vlad and Danny, then the Fenton's again, lol.<p>

But anyway, I really liked this scene between Danny and Vlad. I think the two have a real potential for a beautiful teacher-student, or a father-son relationship if given the right circumstances. Sorry to all you people who like a slash relationship, but I am not a fan! I think it is just too OOC to be attempted!

Hopefully next time I will give a flashback from Vlad's fight, but…nous allons voir!


	9. Things that go 'Bump' in the Night

**What Unusual halflives we lead**

Chapter 9: Things That go 'Bump' in the Night

* * *

><p>In the darkness three lone figures carefully navigated their way around broken furniture, battered pieces of debris and lord only know what else, the house was like a minefield now. After the blackout and the tremor they had somehow managed to get separated…in their own home…how does that happen anyway? Maddie vaguely recalled running up the stairs and into the sitting room with Jack. They had given Jazz a weapon…then she remembered nothing but darkness.<p>

Maddie trembled as she felt the floor move…she supposed this was a kind of after-shock to whatever earthquake they had felt a while ago. She swallowed and gripped the weapon. She kept going. She had somehow navigated her way through a particularly bad culmination of debris when she heard a scream. It was a girl screaming. It was her daughter screaming!

She didn't think; she ran. Maddie ran on adrenaline and fear until the screaming grew louder and clearer. "Jazz…are you there…is that you?" she shouted and lifted a _Fenton Glow Stick_ from her utility belt. It cast a creepy green glow but she saw her daughter clearly. Jasmine Fenton was alone in the sitting room amidst tons of wreckage and rubble; she was violently slinging a huge _Fenton Foamer_ around the room and firing from it randomly and very quickly. Under different circumstances the Ghost Hunter in the teal jumpsuit would have been impressed by her daughters pace, but at the moment she had to calm the girl down. "Jazz…it's me…there's nothing here…" Maddie said rationally and made her way over to her eldest child.

"Mom…" Jazz cried and dropped the weapon, "What happened?" she asked as her mother enveloped her in a tight reassuring hug.

"I don't know, but we have to find your father," Maddie replied and took up the discarded weapon. She smiled down at her daughter, took her hand and gave the girl the _Fenton Glow Stick_. Together they made their way through the living room and into the kitchen, but here was still no sign of Jack Fenton.

"L…let' try the lab…" Jazz said shakily and wiped her eyes. With a nod her mother began to lead the way and they continued to gawk at the damage.

"Things can be fixed Jazz, people can't. I'm just glad you're alright," Maddie gave her daughter's hand a squeeze and adjusted the weapon on her other shoulder. She wanted to be strong for her daughter, even though she had no idea what had happened, and she was scared stiff for her husband. But at least Danny was safe with his friends…he never seemed to have much luck when it came to ghosts, but she was glad she didn't have to worry about finding another Fenton in the rubble. She didn't want to find her son squished under something…she didn't want Danny to be hurt. She didn't want anyone in her family to be hurt…

"I know, mom," Jazz said, and Maddie was pulled from her thoughts by her daughter as they continued their journey.

Once they eventually found the stairs to the lab, mother and daughter began their descent together. "Jack…" Maddie whispered afraid to break the silence. It was a tense coarse silence; one you felt you couldn't…or rather shouldn't break, for fear of the consequences.

Jazz lifted the light and they gasped as it settled upon an unconscious figure on the ground. But once more she felt something breathing down her neck and whipped her neck round to look behind here, and then up at her mother. Maddie simultaneously regarded her daughter, and she knew they had both felt it…there was something else here with them. Maddie, still holding her daughters hand pulled her over the hazardous ground and to the unconscious man, then with their backs against the wall she spun round, weapon at the ready. The strong light was able to penetrate the darkness but once more…thy saw nothing. Maddie swore she could see something move…something vanished from the corner of her eye…but maybe the darkness and the fear were playing tricks on her mind. She was a scientist; she would look at this rationally - so there was nothing there. It had simply been an earthquake.

She turned her attention to her ailing husband. Jack's orange jumpsuit was torn in several places, but she was sure that hers probably was by now as well. Maddie took the light from Jazz's hand and placed it beside them on the floor. She handed the weapon to her daughter and with a false smile she glanced down at her husband.

* * *

><p>Sam and Tucker had reluctantly wandered away from the shadows surrounding <em>Fenton Works <em>and were now sat in Tucker's cluttered bedroom with his laptop open as he continued to type furiously on the keys. For the last few minutes he had been trying, and failing to access the_Emergency Ops-Centre's_ security cameras, at least then they'd have some clue as to what happened.

"What's taking so long?" Sam asked for the 10th time already, and continued to pace the length of the room with her arms crossed.

"You keep asking me that, and I keep telling you; I DON'T KNOW!" Tucker moaned, "Someone really doesn't want us to see the footage, okay,"

"No, it's not 'okay'." Sam poorly imitated his voice and made sarcastic speech-marks with her fingers, "Danny'll be here soon and he'll be going in there blind if we can't find anything…"

"What d'ya mean by 'we,' I'm the one getting shouted at here," Tucker replied and sighed as he lowered his head to the keyboard. "This isn't gonna happen anytime soon, man, it's like try'na hack into the Pentagon…blindfolded…with no hands…" the techno-geek had tried anything and everything he could think of, but he had come up blank. Usually hacking into Fenton Works was a walk in the park for him, but now it was impossible. Talk about a quick upgrade!

"What," Sam exclaimed upon seeing her friend's defeated demeanour, "You can't quit now, something really bad could be happening and we…"

"I know, Sam, but it'd take me hours, if not days to hack into this baby, and by then we probably won't need to…maybe we should just go over and check it out ourselves," he said twirling his office chair round to face his goth friend.

Sam immediately pulled out her cell and resumed her frantic pacing, "…he's not answering…" she growled after a minute of listening to the repeating dial tone. "Keep trying, Tucker," she instructed, and upon seeing the girl's bloodcurdling expression he turned back to his laptop and began his long vigil once more.

* * *

><p>At the same time Danny Phantom was soaring through the rainclouds and roaring winds at 300 mph, the Ghost Boy was invisible to all below but for once he paid the stunning view no attention at all. It was already going dark and the street lamps were beginning to flicker to artificial life as he circled past them. His mind was plagued by questions to which he had no answer. His family were in jeopardy and it was all his fault. He knew this would happen one day, maybe if he'd just told Vlad about his injury and not fought with the man they could have figured things out and he wouldn't be in this terrible situation.<p>

He hardly knew anything about what he would be up against, but when had that ever stopped him before? Just what exactly did it want with him…this…what had Vlad called it…a Calidae? If it wanted him why go after his family…maybe it thought he was there and had just gone in blind? Whatever the reason, it had crossed the line when it chose to endanger his family. It was fine for something to go after him; he didn't care…but it was not okay to go after them!

Within minutes he had gone from Vlad's mansion on the outskirts of the city to his house…and he stopped dead in his tracks. Sam and Tucker had not been joking, but it was strange that no-one else seemed to notice the strange sight before him. The usually unmissable house was in darkness, like his parents had forgotten to pay the electricity bill, but it was more than that. It was only with his superior vision that he could make out the outline of the building at all, at first glance it appeared that _Fenton Works_ had simply disappeared off the face of the earth. But as he looked closer his glowing green eyes picked up another shape. It was vague and imprecise but it was enough to send a chill down his spine.

It was now official; something was seriously wrong!

Disregarding the voice in his head that told him to run as far away from here as possible, Danny flew straight into the lion's den. He went intangibly through, what he presumed was a wall and into complete and total darkness. If it had been dark outside it was nothing compared to what he now found himself in. Even with his ghostly senses he couldn't see or hear a thing, and now he was slightly worried. "…Mom…Dad…Jazz…" he whispered and whipped his head round and round, but still…nothing changed. He couldn't see anything. He couldn't hear anything. And he had no idea where he was, or where his family was, fantastic.

He lifted his right hand and it began to glow with shining ectoplasm, then he lifted his head and his jaw dropped. The sitting room of the house had always been a refuge to the whole family. When he was little he used to run into the house and forget about school and its bullies and his mother would let him run into her arms, then they'd both sit beside each other on the couch. They'd talk about everything…they **used** to talk about everything. He'd ask her what it was like to be an astronaut and look at the earth from above; she didn't know but she used to tell him it was like walking in water with an amazing view. He'd ask her about flying without a plane or a glider; she didn't know but she'd tell him it was freedom that only birds – and ghosts, can know what it felt like. Maddie Fenton would never be able to know what it was like to be in space or how it felt to defy gravity and fly like a bird, but Danny did.

She had been there for him when he needed her; it was their time to be together and the couch was important to them. It sounded silly, Danny knew that, it was just a couch, but it had some of the best memories of anything in the house he could remember.

If he had been a visiting stranger it would have been impossible to tell the difference between said couch or the chairs or even the tables. Everything had been literally torn to shreds. There were huge claw marks on the walls, like a really pissed of tiger or lion had been let loose…a**big** cat, **ten** times the size of a normal one. The marks were huge…as the battered and torn furnishings could now testify.

Because his ectoplasm was the only light in the room everything also had an eerie green tinge to it, and it bothered him slightly that he hadn't been able to see any of this with his eyes, he had **really** good night vision. So, he decided to test a theory, he took one last breath and let the light go dimmer and dimmer until it vanished completely. Then he waited several seconds and turned his head round once more to test his eyes. Nope, still nothing. It was really weird and he hated being blind. So he illuminated the room once more and he was met by the same distressing sight. Like the room had been hit by an atomic bomb or a not-so controlled explosion things had been tossed left, right, up, down and any other which ways you could imagine. Strangely he noticed that the windows were still intact and there were glowing globs of ecto-gloop festering on the carpet, his mom was going to blow; she hated cleaning up glowing globs, especially when they were on **her** carpet.

He took one last look round the war-zone that was once his sitting room and with a quiet shudder he hovered through to the kitchen and was met with a similar sight. The same claw marks on the walls and the battered furniture; someone's bad idea of post-modern décor, he hoped. As he hovered his foot snagged on something and he fell out of the air and painfully onto uneven ground. His legs hit something pointy and sharp while his chest and arms collided with something hard and cold.

"Ugh…" he moaned and in the shock his light had gone out. He felt around uselessly in the dark and tied hastily to touch something familiar; a chair, a table leg…anything. But was surprised when he discovered what he had tripped on felt like the refrigerator. He re-lit his palm and without getting up he observed that it was indeed the Fenton fridge, it was lying on its side, partly propped up by the wall and it was open. Now that he observed he saw that the contents were littered and spilt all over the room, it was on the walls, the debris and even the ceiling. On a whim he crawled over to get a closer look and saw the emergency ham had long since moved and the button for the controls had been switched on.

So someone had been anticipating an attack, but what had it been? He continued to fumble around the room and tried the light switch…with no success; well it had been worth a try. Where would his family go for safety in _Fenton Works_? There were only two places to choose from. The_Emergency Ops centre_…and…

Without a second thought he flew through the floor and into the lab.

He took a deep breath and his eyes widened in shock while his jaw dropped in horror. The cabinets and tables that had been attached to the walls had been ripped off and thrown about the room. The glass test tubes, phials and beakers now created a painful carpet of broken shards on the ground that caught his ghostly glow and magnified it tenfold.

The Fenton_ Portal_ was wide open and he stared into the green swirling atmosphere, it was a kind of refuge to him as well. It was a hostile environment filled with loopy ghosts that wanted to kill him, but he loved it. And seeing it open right now for some reason worried him greatly; anyone…or anything could get in…or out...

He was about to fly over and shut it down when a soft whimper stopped him. Danny turned round and fell to the ground in shock; he was unable to maintain the miniscule concentration that it took to hover in the air. There, in the corner of the broken lab were his mother, his father and his sister.

Each one of them was now littered with dozens of bleeding cuts and wounds, their clothes soaking up the blood and taking on an unhealthy red. His father was unconscious and his mother was gently treating a particularly nasty looking gash on the man's right shoulder. Jazz was pointing a dented _Fenton Foamer_ at him with angry eyes. "…Jazz…" Danny frowned and took in the whole ghastly sight from the ground where he lay. He ignored the sharp shards of glass now penetrating his suit and his skin, of what importance was that when his family was in this state? "It's me…" he said quietly with his hands up in the classic 'surrender' pose.

"Danny…" Jazz's voice cut through him like no ghost ray ever had. Her usually musical voice was rough and uneven…it scared him. Just what had happened here?

"Jazz…what is it…" his mom now looked up, her attention had before been fixed on his dad, but now that she saw him she looked…he wasn't sure how she looked. He had come as Danny Phantom…not her son…so how should she feel? "Ghost Boy…what are you doing here?"

Usually he would give a witty remark, something like 'I have a name y'know, and it ain't Ghost Boy,' but now was not the time for his trademark sarcasm or flippancy. Now was the time to get his family the hell outta here. It didn't matter where, anywhere was better than here at the moment.

"Listen mo…Maddie, I have to get you guys outta here…come on, let me help you…please…" Danny begged and his mother stared at him in shock.

"Why would you want to help us?" She asked, and he was beginning to sense a major déjà vu moment. Hadn't he had a similar conversation with someone a while ago? Was his life strange or what?

"Because I care about you…I don't know what happened here, but I need you to trust me," Danny slowly stood up and began to approach them.

Jazz smiled, "I don't think he wants to hurt us, mom. We really need his help," she said and turned to face her mother.

"…Well, I…oh…Alright…" she sighed and glanced down at her husband, "just help me move hi…"

Danny was just leaning over to help his mother lift up his unconscious father when the ground shook for a third time.

It was worse than both of the previous ones put together and trebled. Danny was forced to stand up as his mother lost her balance and fell beside Jack. Jazz curled up on the floor and tried to keep from falling on the pointed objects that littered the floor. Danny looked round and immediately lifted a strong ecto-barrier to protect them from falling debris.

If the house fell on them it wouldn't be a problem; he could just turn them intangible and wait for the shaking to stop. What worried him was the strange feeling that was now coursing through his veins. It felt kind of like his ghost sense. It was a cold sort of rush and he craned his neck forwards to observe the room. When he didn't see or feel his ghost sense actually escape from his mouth he started to get increasingly worried. How could he get the same feeling without the signature blue mist? It was not possible.

"Danny," he vaguely heard his sister say, "What's going on?" But he was too far into his own mind to give her an answer.

Every bone in his body was screaming at him to run! It was self-preservation in its most basic form and he was well acquainted with the feeling…it was the 'fight and flight' instinct. Only the 'fight' this time was being dulled by something, and the 'flight' was becoming louder and louder and louder and louder! It was becoming unbearable!

But he couldn't just abandon him family; he would NEVER forgive himself if he did. So he cast the thought away and strengthened the shield.

The tremors seemed to decrease but they were still present; Danny felt them through his feet on the ground, and he heard the noise from falling objects and shattering glass. Before his eyes something began to emerge. It looked like smoke, from a burning building on its last legs and about to crumble forever; the foul air that penetrated a person's lungs and caused so much damage with so little effort.

It had an uneven shape; like the filthiest industrial smog or a spine-chilling midnight mist. Danny found it strange that this mist seemed to have a dark blue tinge to it and he added more strength to his shield. It was now probably the most powerful one he had ever created, it was fuelled by his ecto-energy but in his fear he had lost control of his innate ice powers and it now a thin, but strong layer of glowing azure surrounding it.

The mist now began to take on a more denser shape and Danny saw two black eyes that managed to convey to him the purest look of hatred and abhorrence; he had never seen anything like it before…except maybe in his nightmares. He saw the coal black eyes never waver from him, it didn't even look at his family, not once…this…abomination had eyes for only him.

It seemed to growl at him, a low penetrating sound that only fuelled the voice in his head telling him to fly out of there as fast as he could. Nothing he had ever come across before had managed to instil such fear in him with so little effort. Not Skulker, Walker or even Vlad had this effect on him. And it froze him to the spot, he felt like a deer caught in the headlights, powerless to do anything. It was a horrible feeling.

It growled louder and louder and seemed to be moving closer to him and his family, Danny's arms began to quiver and could practically feel the fear come from his family in waves. Clearly none of them had ever come across anything like this either.

Once it rested just outside Danny's shield he was able to make out two horns on the things head…if it even had a head…maybe this was indeed the devil…how could it not be…only something from the deepest darkest pits of hell would be able to look and act this way. He saw two long arms emerge and it lifted one of them up slowly. Its long, slim fingers each had a pointed black talon growing from it and they were now raised and pointed right at him.

He through he was going to be attacked, he was expecting a painful, mind-blowing attack, but it seemed to tilt its head slightly at him. Danny still didn't move - if he did his family were toast and if he stayed where he was, the **he** was toast as well. But something told him that when this thing was through with him there wasn't even going to be any ashes left, let alone toast. The analogy was almost comical…almost.

The hand came ever closer and he quietly swore when he felt the immense pressure on the shield. It was trying to force its way past his defences, and it appeared to be off to a damn good start. This had to be by far the most powerful shield he had ever made, and this thing was gonna slice through it like it was cheese…huh another food analogy…maybe he was still hungry…He groaned as he felt his arms and legs buckle under the incoming attack and the claws came ever closer.

The creature seemed to smile on seeing his struggle, and as Danny's ice defence literally shattered into million tiny shards of useless ice he swallowed hard. He couldn't keep this up for long; he wasn't going to survive purely through defence alone; he needed to attack. He needed to protect himself and his family; he needed to get this thing away from his house and his city. But surely that wasn't a good idea…but there was no one to come to his rescue…so he had no other choice.

It had made short work of the outer layer and was now half way through the remaining defence; this was easier than he thought it would be. At least the other one had put up a fight...a poor one, but a fight none the less. To do otherwise was weak and dishonourable and those were two things the Calidae hated most of all, and he relished the look of pure fear on the child's face. He stepped closer and closer until the green shield shattered completely, leaving an undefended hybrid and three weak humans.

Danny let out a yell of surprise and pain as he felt his most powerful defence fade away; he felt the ectoplasm leave his palms and it felt like losing a limb. It was now or never, he could attack now and have some small hope of survival…or he could give up and let himself and his family die without even trying. He knew which one he would choose…it was the option he always chose…he fought. There was no way he was going down without a fight…it was in his nature…something that he hoped would never change.

He let out the cold feeling from deep within and felt his palms light up with frozen energy, from his eyes and hands he let out as much of the power as he could and kept going. It hit the intruder on target and soon Danny was looking at a misty frozen sculpture.

Usually he would admire its beauty, or stop to take in the shape of the thing trapped within but there was little time to do so. He intended to take it far away…not a well thought out plan perhaps, but he flew from his family and toughed his right palm to the ice. Without even looking at the people below he turned both himself and the being intangible and up through the ceiling. Another two to go and then it was clear skies all the way…but that was all the Calidae was going to stand for. Danny felt the ice melt beneath his palm and a sudden feeling shot up his arms and sent him flying into the wall behind him.

He felt as though his whole body was on fire, and he knew what that felt like, this fire was worse and hotter and any normal flame. As his back collided with the wall his head slumped down on his chest and he recognised the familiar prickling touch on his abdomen.

Danny forced his head up in time to see the ice instantly shatter with a loud theatrical sound that reverberated excruciatingly in his eardrums. Apparently it didn't like being frozen and now it was totally pissed off with him. Oh shit! He pulled up his hands, ignored the protest from his limbs, and sent swirling discs of ecto-energy at it. But they were easily blocked by a bluish-black hand and Danny moaned.

The building then shook once more and he heard loud screams from downstairs, Danny tried to turn intangible to fall through the floor but one of the beasts large hands shot forwards and pinned him to the wall. It cut off his oxygen and he choked for air…he didn't need as much as most people but he still panicked when he was being strangled by a shit-scary monster! Was that so wrong of him?

Then he was thrown clear across the room and into, what he found on impact was a particularly large pointy pile of rubble. He screamed in agony then Danny strained his ears to find the screaming sound of his scared family, but he heard nothing…maybe they were okay now…or maybe not. Before he could even think of a worst case scenario a powerful blast of crackling black energy hit him and he felt it shock him from head to toe. It felt worse than one of Skulker's attacks from an upgraded suit…it felt worse than being tossed like a rag doll through 3 solid walls consecutively and even worse than Vlad duplicating himself and having them all electrocuting him at the same time.

He was now left with two choices; he could do nothing, or he could attack with his Ghostly Wail. Both of them would most likely result in his losing consciousness…for the second time in one day, he had to note bitterly. Today was definitely was of his worse days. He took in a deep breath and let out his most powerful attack. It caused the whole house to tremble and created even more damage to the interior.

It had to have caught the creature by surprise as it was sent backwards and held against the wall by the sheer force of the green waves of energy. But it didn't last long. Danny was shocked as it vanished in thin air, so he stopped his attack. The consequences of using his Wail when he was not at full power soon became clear and he propped himself up shakily on his knees. His head began to spin and he morphed back into his human half…when he tried to change back he was met with internal resistance and he fell to the ground with a sigh.

Maybe his luck had begun to turn and it had run away? He highly doubted it. And he was proven correct and he sensed something behind him, but he was powerless to do anything in defence…when he felt the attack all he did..all he could do was…scream…

* * *

><p>Vlad sat alone in his sitting room; with the glow from the fire illuminating his features and highlighting the confusion and concern in his glassy cobalt eyes. He had let the child leave alone, without his assistance. If <strong>he<strong> had almost died trying to fight it, perhaps Daniel wouldn't be quite so lucky as to escape with his life. But what could he do; when the mere memory of the creature brought a humiliating feeling of powerlessness and…fear. He hadn't felt the same way in over 20 years, and now it had returned with a vengeance…and Vlad didn't like it. Not one bit! It was inconceivable that a single fight had the ability to reduce him to this; a fearful, powerless old hybrid trying to save himself, and one of the only few people he actually cared, about from the slaughter.

"What happened?" Alothea asked as she entered the room in human form and Vlad felt the usual shiver down his spine. He had long ago learnt to control his reaction to other ghosts, but it never hut to be on the alert. She walked over to the fireplace, and knelt down and began adding more logs to the fire; she knew it was a pointless, unnecessary waste of money since any of them, including Vlad could make the fire burn without using fuel of any kind. But the man was adamant, he wanted a log fire and he was going to have a log fire. He didn't care about wasting the money, if he wanted to he could burn money…he had enough of the stuff…and he had never been a tree-hugger type anyway.

"Nothing," Vlad replied quietly and swirled the red wine in a crystal glass ostentatiously rimmed with gold.

"Hmm…" was Ally's only reply and she picked up a brass poker from the elaborately crafted Companion Set. **(*1)**

"He is just like you," she smiled into the fire as she nudged a particularly large piece of wood down into the consuming flames.

"Don't be facetious, Alothea, it doesn't suit you," Vlad muttered and sipped the dregs of the expensive wine. He then set it down gently and brushed back his hair with his right hand, a nervous habit of his instilled in him from his father.

"If you say so, sir," she smiled and returned the instrument to its rightful place. She then stood up straight before him and clasped her hands behind her back. "You are...worried the boy?" Ally then walked over to her employer and lifted the intricate glass decanter from the cabinet and poured more of his favourite wine into his empty glass.

"Not in the least," Vlad replied austerely and held the Spectrals gaze. This particular Ghost was not like other Spectrals he had met. She had far more knowledge than the rest of them, and while they appeared to be only a few years old in ghost years Alothea had over 700 years of memory. Sometimes she was confusing to be around, he could act cold and cruel, but she also spoke to him like a friend. Which he found absurd! But for reasons of his own he said nothing, he knew that she was aware of his doubts but the both of them kept quiet.

"If you say so, sir," she repeated and turned to put away the decanter. She then left the room with an antiquated bow and bid her employer goodnight. With his doubts and fears elevated she had done her job and the other Spectrals started at her anxiously as she walked away from the closed doors.

* * *

><p>"Well?" Marion prompted eagerly. But Alothea was still walking away and the others had to walk quickly to keep up with her.<p>

"Well what?" she asked innocently with her hands clasped lightly in front of her.

"Did you tell him…about the kid…he can't just let things happen like this…?" Elyn answered with a worried look on her sylphlike face.

"Elyn, I went in only to stoke the fire and bid our master goodnight. You know I don't tell tales after school," the stoic maid replied with a knowing look in her ancient eyes. Then she turned and bowed lightly to them "Goodnight," she smiled and vanished through the celling before their eyes.

"If you azk me, zat girl haz always been a leettle bit…"

"How many times…we **didn't** ask you!" Harry shouted and thwacked the wanna-be French Ghost upside the head with a frying pan.

"Mon dieu!" Louis exclaimed and clutched his head with both hand, "Zis is unacceptable behaviour…I will demand to be zee 'ead chef…you do not deserve zuch a distinguished…"

"Where were you keeping that?" Larson asked effectively cutting off Louis' rant and he curiously tilted his head.

"What's it to ya?" Harry rudely replied and once more brandished his weapon.

"Nothing…never mind…" the kleptomaniac gardener sighed and flew away from the continual shouts of the barmy chefs that continued to echo in the gloomy mansion.

* * *

><p>What was he meant to do now? That was the question that pounded and resonated in Vlad's brain like a hammer. If he went over to the Fenton's then he was most assuredly dead. If he stayed here and wallowed then two of the only reasons for his existence were most assuredly dead as well. Was he selfish enough to let that happen...would he really let his beautiful Madeline die because he was too much of a coward to help her? Was he really stupid enough to let the son that should be his die cold and alone because he was too afraid to save him?<p>

Madeline and Daniel…Daniel and Madeline…they would be his undoing, he was sure of it. He'd never really paid much attention to the eldest Fenton child; Jasmine Fenton. She was her mother in miniature in appearance and intelligence, perhaps he should have cared more; it was always such a waste to see young talent die before it had the chance to shine. And as for Jack…well what was there to say? If his obsessions were his wife and son then that man was the embodiment of everything he hated and despised.

It made him wonder how he had ever been friends with such a person. But the memories of their college days had been some of the best he could ever remember…until he had realised they were both in love with the same woman…and the…accident.

Until Jack Fenton, Vladimir Masters had never had a friend in his life; he had his parents, he had his father's employees and co-workers, the servants…but never a friend. And he'd never had a friend **after **Jack Fenton either. The betrayal still stung. Even now, after 20 years…he still hated the sight of the man. In his darkest moments he wanted to kill him, he wanted to stop Jack's beating heart and laugh at him as he died. The sheer pleasure of knowing that you are the victor in this game drove his hatred. But if he did so he often wondered would he lose any chance he had with Maddie and Daniel?

Did that even matter? He could drag them both kicking and screaming if he had to…if he wanted to. Vlad wasn't sure exactly what was stopping him from doing so, and it bothered him all the time. He didn't like **not** knowing something. He had been raised to know his enemy, he had always been told to never loose…to never be crushed …and never give up. Under-handed tactics were always an option when the King was in danger…and if nothing else it was a mentality he would take to his grave. It had been too deeply entrenched into his mind and he was too old to change his ways now.

But what should he do? To go or not to go, that is the question? Vlad still didn't know…one answer did spring to mind…but it clashed with the mentality of his childhood. If he went he was putting himself in danger…there was a chance he could lose…but to stay would be to abandon the only two people he cared for. And neither were options he particularly favoured.

He saw images…hated recollections of the fight that not so long ago had threatened his own life; it still terrified him to just think about it. That monster could strike fear into anyone without even trying no matter how powerful they were. And if he abandoned Daniel to his fate he would never have another chance to convince the child he could be a batter father than the one fate had given him. He would never be able to prove to Maddie that he loved her far more than her husband.

So with one last sigh of acceptance Vlad finished his second glass of wine – a parody of a last supper – and transformed into his Ghostly alter ego, he then teleported himself quickly and quietly to _Fenton Works_.

* * *

><p>Vlad made sure that he was well hidden in his chosen spot. He had appeared in a smoke screen of pink and purple mist behind a tall house close to the Fenton's, he didn't want the Calidae to know that he was here until it was absolutely necessary. While invisible he poked his head around the building and caught a glimpse of the strange darkness he had overheard Daniel's friends mention in fear…and they had a right to be fearful.<p>

The house was showed in the same dark mist that he had seen overtake his own mansion…when he had nearly been killed. And like the hybrid before him he flew straight towards the house, but he stopped before he could touch it. Vlad glanced around…no-once else had noticed the seemingly large black hole in their street where the house used to be. Or maybe they just didn't pay as much attention like Daniel's friends did. Either way this was a major problem.

He flew through the darkness and into more darkness…or so he thought. Once his gloved palm ignited with purple ectoplasm he was soon corrected. He had been transported into a war zone! What kind of mad joke was this? The Fenton's sitting room looked like it had been chewed up and sit out by a huge rabid monster. Vlad's eyes flitted about the room and he eventually decided that there was no-one here, he was just flying out of the room when a speck of dirty grey caught his eye, it was tinted with his purple glow…but he still caught it.

Vlad hovered over with caution and his left hand crackled with electricity, ready to attack if necessary. But he stopped in his tracks and carefully scrutinized the morbid sight before him, with his mouth aghast and his eyes wide he was staring at the still, unmoving form of a very human and battered looking Daniel Fenton. He quickly made sure that they were alone in the dark and for the second time that day he knelt beside the unconscious boy. Vlad pushed aside broken pieces of wood, bricks and all sorts away from the bleeding child and lightly lifted the boy into his arms. With his floating orb of purple light still illumining the room his tapped Daniel's cheek and tried to revive him.

"Daniel…" he whispered quietly and was relieved when he saw the child's eyes flicker under his eyelids. "Daniel…wake up…" he lightly shook the boy's shoulders and was met with a quiet moan from the recipient.

Once Danny was able to open his eyes he expected the monster to be back to finish the job so he jerked as far away from whatever had woken him up, he didn't get far and he forced his vision to clear. "…e…lone…" he muttered and tried to get his hand to fire an ectoplasmic blast at the stranger. He didn't get very far in that either, and his hand gave off a pitiful spark before he was forced to drop it, the boy really had no energy at all.

"Daniel…I'm not going to hurt you…" Vlad replied.

Danny blinked in confusion, he knew that voice…but he couldn't place it…the thing that attacked him hadn't spoken a word, so it couldn't be that. It was a man's voice…but didn't sound like his father, "…huh…" he exhaled, took a deep breath and subsequently choked on the very air he had just breathed in.

Vlad propped the boy up to help him breathe and noticed that his clothes were torn…almost shredded and he looked past them to check the boy for any serious wounds. Then something black caught his eye…something that shouldn't have been there at all. An ugly, angry looking injury on Daniel's blood covered abdomen, something they had been discussing…and something he had feared.

But he pushed it to the back of his mind for the moment, right now he needed to get himself and the child out of the house and away from whatever was still probably lurking in the shadows. "Come on…we need to leave, now…" he whispered softly and lifted the boy into his arms.

"No…d…stairs…lab…" Danny muttered and tried to fidget out of Vlad's strong hold.

Passing the child's mumbled words of as the gibberish ravings of an injured boy, and standing up to fly them both far away.

"NO," Danny said again this time more forcefully and he was able to get the man's attention with increasing success. "Please…"

Vlad sighed and took in his surroundings, hopefully he sensed nothing, he saw nothing and he heard nothing. Maybe they were safe…for now. "What is it, Daniel?" he asked and turned his gaze to the ailing boy in his arms.

"…They're downstairs…in the…lab…please…" he said and moaned in pain.

If the Fenton's were indeed still in the house was there a chance that they were still alive? Vlad once more surveyed the damage and weighed up the probability; Daniel was the strongest of the Fenton's and it looked like he had just barely survived…so what about the others…what about Maddie. If he stayed here and tried to search for them he could be putting them both in even more jeopardy. But…in for a penny…Vlad moved the boy so that Danny's right arm was around his shoulders and he was acting as a prop from him to stand.

He phased them both though the floor and into the remains of the Fenton's basement lab. Vlad at once saw why Danny had been so adamant about staying…each of the three remaining Fenton's were unconscious in the corner of the room. They were surrounded by weapons and blood…lots of blood.

What the hell was he supposed to do now?

He had the lives of his most hated rival, the love of his life, and two helpless children in his hands…his mind demanded that this was a situation that was crying out to be manipulated to work to his advantage. And Daniel further played into his hands as he fell unconscious again…the child was exhausted. He floated over to the group of comatose humans and then he heard a low snarl…a howl or an angry growl. Something was not pleased to see him here…he had played right into its hands by coming here…now it looked like he was in for it.

But Vlad was not a stupid man he crouched down beside the Fenton's and focused on his mansion…he had to imagine every furnishing and corner of the sitting room…and then he expanded the purple mist around him. He sensed a huge mass of dark energy head towards him…it would know where he would go for safety…but it was too late to change his destination now…all five of them vanished leaving only pools of blood and ectoplasm behind.

* * *

><p>A.N. So now I think I have the major plot line well and truly under way…and it only took me like 9 chapters and like over 40,000 words…too much d'you think…oh well…such is life.<p>

And it's about time; it's Vlad to the rescue…well sort of anyway! Once again I know I really put poor Danny though lot, don't I? But he can take it; I will be kinder to him in the future!

Goodbye

Sayōnara

Au revoir

Lebewohl

etc

* * *

><p><strong>(*1)<strong> In case anyone is wondering; a 'Companion Set' is one of the traditional Victorian fire pieces that typically stood beside the fireplace. They usually had a shovel, brush, poker and coal tongs and were normally made of iron, brass or pewter. If you still don't know what I mean Google it and you'll see. Vlad of course would have to use a very elaborate set, and coming from, in my story, a wealthy traditional English family, (with Russian or German or whatever descent) he would have wanted one as a memento of his childhood.


	10. Reckless Sentimentality

**What Unusual halflives we lead**

Chapter 10: Reckless Sentimentality

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><p>It was not one of Vlad Plasmius' best teleportation landings but he had never had to try with four unconscious passengers before. He, for want of a better term, crash landed in his long-suffering sitting room loudly and stumbled to his feet. His passengers remained unconscious and not one of the uttered a single sound; they really were out for the count, with a scrutinising glance at them Vlad immediately flew down to his lab. He needed to check the Ghost…and Spirit shield.<p>

If it got in now everything would have been for nothing, and they would all be dead, he would check on the Fenton's once he knew that they were all going to live a minute longer. "Systems on," he commanded. The room instantly blared to bright sterile light and several large screens showed him the camera footage of the area surrounding his mansion. "Condition; Anti Ghost and Spirit Shield," a second after he had finished speaking a larger screen provided him with the status of his only protection against another lethal attack.

Fortunately he saw that his latest invention was running at full capacity, and the only other thing he had to rely on for his protection was himself…perhaps if things took a turn for the worst again his servants could once more divert the Calidae long enough for him to have the chance to improvise…but he didn't like to attempt such a risky move once…let alone twice. Not when his life was hanging in the balance. In a tight spot the only person a man could rely on was himself, and for his failures; a man could only blame himself. It had been about all he had ever heard his father say to him, and disgrace was inexcusable.

Vlad wasn't sure if he should be grateful or not to his old man and his traditional, antiquated philosophy, but it hadn't done him any harm to learn the hard way just how right it could be. The world was an unforgiving place where social ideas such as fate and karma had no say in a man's life; you had to carve your own destiny in the world. And Vlad believed that despite some of his rather unorthodox and questionable decisions in life that he had done pretty well for himself…by himself…with no-one to congratulate him or share in his success…

But that was fine, he had grown up with solitude as his only childhood companion, and he could live with it now as a man. Nothing had changed. Nothing…

"Marion!" Vlad bellowed as the battle garbed (un-wanted) visitors in his sitting room invaded his thoughts. The Spectral in question appeared in an instant. "In the sitting room…you'll have to deal with it for the moment…" Vlad said after he sensed her presence behind him.

He was still staring up at the huge screens on the wall and was typing furiously with blood spattered gloves. "Daniel will have to stay here, he can't go to a hospital…it's too risky…the others…you'll have to take the other three to the local hospital…they're too badly hurt and I have enough to deal with…" he continued and she nodded, still not fully understanding but she was startled when her master said 'hospital,' so casually. Nonetheless she flew out of the room to see what new 'visitors' the man had mentioned.

Vlad soon heard the woman shriek loudly in horror and shock; however he paid it little heed. Now at least, he was sure that he could do no more to keep himself and his mansion safe from attack, he could relax...in theory. Once he knew it worked he would need to expand it over the whole city, if only to protect himself from taking the blame from an attack, but it was unlikely that anyone else would be in danger.

So he phased back through into the sitting room and found the whole staff gawking and trying to help the injured humans…how amusing. He himself only spared a glance for Madeline and Daniel. He couldn't keep Maddie here, as much as he wanted too, she would be a dead weight and it would take them far longer to heal than it would Daniel. She needed a hospital.

Vlad morphed back into Masters and was once more wearing his impeccable black business suit, and removed his jacket. He rolled back his sleeves and lifted the boy into his arms once more, "Make sure you get them to the hospital…just…if they ask, tell them there was an explosion at _Fenton Works_…don't tell them anything else…I suppose I'll have to pay the bill…" he told them and they nodded, without another thought he then flew through the ceiling and up into one of the unused bedrooms.

He gently placed the sleeping child on the expensive sheets of white cotton and at once they began to soak up the colours of red blood and green ectoplasm. It had taken Vlad years to come to terms with the sight of his own strange blood, with no-one to tell him what had happened and no-one to reassure him, he had been left alone, and could only speculate the damage done to him. But it was even stranger to see the same substance coming from another person, there had been times that he used to despair at being the only hybrid in existence. Now he knew better. And their blood was not the most appealing thing in the world, the green ectoplasm resembled a parasite; it clung to the red blood cells with vice-like talons that refused to let go.

For a moment he stood over the boy and wondered what he should do.

Vlad now knew what Daniel had been trying to tell him…or trying to keep from him when they had spoken earlier; that **he** had been the recipient of the strange substance -_Glaciem calidum_- that could kill people by internal fire. And now it was threatening this child…why did it have to be Daniel, of all the people in the world, why him? It seemed that both had tremendously bad luck…maybe it was a trait of being half ghost…there was no-one else he could test that little theory on so he just had to stick with it.

But it still wasn't fair…it wasn't Daniel's fault that he was half-ghost…well in a sense it was mainly his parents fault…but both of them had ultimately been victims to curiosity. It was yet another common trait that made them so similar. But he shouldn't have to go through life like this forever…if he had a life after this…

Vlad would need to act soon if he wanted to save the child's life…if what he had read was true then the odds were stacked against them, and perhaps the wound had already begun to weaken the boy…It was a cross-road that he hoped he would never reach, but now it had come, and the choice was Vlad's.

Then, before he could move an inch the whole mansion trembled and quailed, the walls pulsated with visible strain and the windows cringed in fear. He ran over to the window and his eyes narrowed…attacking his shimmering barrier was the beast he never wanted to see in his nightmares again.

A dark shadow had descended on his mansion…the most predominant figure being the one whose presence he had vacated only minutes ago. It had to be toying with him…it could get from here to there faster than Vlad could teleport, no doubt, so the only reason it would act this way was if it was playing with it food. And Vlad hated being the mouse…it just wasn't dignified or beneficial to him at all. So he would just have to play better than his opponent…that meant choosing his moves…which move would be of most benefit to him in the long run?

As much as he hated to admit it if he went out there like a bull in a china shop he would most likely get himself killed…leaving Daniel defenceless then - also most likely dead as well. Vlad could control his temper…he would control his temper. He knew that his new technology was capable of preventing the Spirit from entering, so now he only had to watch as his intelligence…hopefully…outwitted his opponents…brawn and brute force would have to wait until the final move, the only upper hand he possessed, as yet was his mind.

A flurry of misty shadows and lethal talons continued to pound and scrape at the shield in tangible anger and frustration, with any luck Vlad had taken his enemy by surprise. He watched in astonishment as, despite its initial failure, the creature showed no sign of relenting. Perhaps this enemy wasn't as bright as Vlad had originally supposed.

But his ears protested in anger as a deafening roar shook the mansion…outside the attack on his barrier had come to an abrupt halt and the wealthy hybrid was taken aback by its now unpredictable behaviour.

Everything outside became entrenched by the growing black mist, it overtook Vlad's senses as a dark film covered his eyes. It felt like he had been jumped from behind and attacked…painfully. It felt similar to collapsing after being starved for months and pushed far past your limits…and after emigrating to a new country with next to nothing, Vlad knew all too well what **that** felt like.

But Vlad's vision soon returned with shimmering air, like the warm, heat-stoke inducing air of the deserts of Africa. His breathing increased as his lungs felt they were being deprived of air, and his heart was being held in a vice-like grip that caused him to grasp the front of his shirt in pain.

As he returned from this raw daze Vlad clutched at the corner of the window and sent a hate-filled glare at the being outside. He was safe…it was angry at him for having taken away its prey, and it had let Vlad know in the most blatant way possible. Clearly this battle was a victory to Vlad, but the war wasn't over yet…it was just beginning.

The mist quickly dissipated leaving a cold chill in its wake and with the certainty that their new 'friend' would soon return with a vengeance Vlad turned his attention back to the sleeping child. He frowned and went hunting for his medical supplies that he would need to patch up the child's wounds. He would need a sample of the threatening substance to analyse A.S.A.P.

He flew down to his lab and turned to the cabinet that he had always dreaded using, from all of the times he had had need of them himself, he had come to hate physical injury. After collecting the necessities he glanced over at the screen and brought up the damage done to his shield. Overall it could have been worse, it would need to be worked on of course, but Daniel had to come first, and he pocketed a small petri dish for the sample he was going to need. Vlad then expanded the shield and hastened to the kitchen.

He took one of his clean expensive towels from the pile of medical supplied in his arms and dowsed it with warm water. Then he set about mixing the saline he had perfected after years of 'educational' hospital treatment and uncontrollable ghost powers. He waited for the kettle to boil then powered the boiling water into a bowl, dissolving a small amount of salt into it as he did so. **(*1)**After he had finished he encased his hand in ectoplasm and touched the bowl, it absorbed the purple glow as he literally charged the particles with his own ecto-energy. The water began to bubble again as his electrical charge ran through the mixture and it shone brightly for a moment then subsided. He then hung the towel over his arm, and carried the rest of the supplies back up to the bedroom where he had deposited the unfortunate child.

Thankfully Daniel had not stirred, or even moved a muscle on the bed so Vlad could now get on with the task at hand without having to take in any unpredictable reactions into account. He didn't doubt the fact the fact that if Daniel was conscious he would be protesting in no uncertain terms that Vlad shouldn't be helping him. But there was no time for trivialities.

He instantly set to work and removed the tattered remains of the boy's shirt to better gauge the damage he would need to repair. Vlad was not impressed at the sight that met his eyes; the black, almost crystallised area on Daniel's abdomen was enormous and he touched it with uncertain fingers. Simultaneously a horrid chill ran down his spine and he pulled his hand away with a jolt…what was this thing doing to the boy?

He then saw the boy's cell phone; it had fallen out of Daniel's trouser pocket and onto the bed as Vlad had been removing the bloodied t-shirt. It was spattered with small spots of blood and was surprisingly still operational. With a surprised glance at the hardy piece of technology he switched it off and left it on the bedside table.

He then took the damp cloth and attempted to soak up the majority of the blood from the open wounds with his mixture of warm water and saline. The process was time consuming and difficult as the boy was wounded on his front and back and his legs were adorned with several lesions as well. Luckily Daniel didn't stir or even make a sound as Vlad continued his lengthy vigil.

After about 20 minutes he quickly bandaged the more serious injuries and was left staring at the only one that he knew next to nothing about. He took out a pair of tweezers and gently lifted a small section of the strange black substance that mocked him so. After placing it in the petri dish from his pocket he left it on the bedside table while he tidied up the bloodied fabric and left over water.

With worry still apparent in his eyes Vlad covered the child with the dense comforter and took the dish down to his lab. His care for Daniel would be his undoing…but now was the time for ruthless scientific thinking while his reckless sentimentality took a back seat.

* * *

><p>"Anything?" Tucker demanded as Sam tried their friend's cell phone again. The goth girl paced the length of the techno geek's bedroom with the mobile apparently glued to her ear.<p>

"No," she sighed and once more listened to the same monotonous voice telling her that Danny's phone was switched off. "You?" she asked glancing over at her friend staring lifelessly into the computer screen.

It seemed that Tucker was losing the will to live…this thing was really, really annoying him now. He had yet to come across the technology that could outwit him, and now after everything he had ever hacked into he was being beaten…by the Fenton's security system no less! Or rather the thing that had altered the Fenton's security system, but either way it was still irritating.

"No go, Sam," he replied, "this baby's locked up good. It's like when you and Danny come back after a date…it ain't gonna say anything and neither are you,"

Sam merely sighed in frustration, "We don't…uhhh," she moaned, "…never mind…" she violently threw herself onto the floor and her heavy combat boots made loud 'thumping' sounds on impact.

"Hey…watch the floor, it wasn't built to take repeated combat boot abuse, y'know," Tucker shouted and waved his fist at Sam's lethal boots.

They had now exhausted every plan, move and contingency idea that they had, the two teens were well and truly stumped for ideas. Tucker had had no breakthrough with the security system, Sam had tried Danny's cell, Jazz's cell and had called the _All-Purpose_ _Fenton Fone_ repeatedly. The grey device was lying in the Fenton's lab and was supposedly designed to receive and make calls in the most hostile frequency and signal environments in the world, but it was useless to her because no-one was answering the damn thing!

"Maybe we should just forget all this and just go over there," Sam suggested, "I wanna see what's happening," she looked up at her friend who was still sitting in the wheeled office chair at his desk

"So do I…but…Danny said…" Tuck replied but he had entertained the possibility himself of marching over to _Fenton Works_ and demanding answers. But if Danny was in trouble…there wasn't much they could do to help him at the moment, Tucker didn't admit it often aloud but Danny was stronger than they would ever be. Physically, Danny was stronger than any human teenager could ever be and if the hybrid had come across something too strong for him, then he and Sam wouldn't stand much of a chance either.

They needed a plan…but to have a plan they needed to know what was happening…if anything was happening at all, but Tucker Foley, Techno Geek extraordinaire, had no idea what was happening. And it wasn't a good feeling…his best friend in the whole world could be hurt…or worse…and there was nothing he could do to help him!

"I KNOW what Danny said…but Danny's NOT here, and he could be in serious trouble, and we're just doing nothing!" Sam shouted

"Because we don't **know** what to do! And if we go over there and get ourselves killed that won't be helping Danny, would it?" Tuck said rationally, "I only have a _Fenton Wrist Ray_, a few _Fenton Fones_, an _Anti-Creep Stick _and a_ broken Spector Deflector_!" Tuck counted on his fingers, "Now call me crazy but that's not the best arsenal to be taking when we don't even know what we're up against, do you?"

Sam only sighed furiously in response, but she knew he was right, she only had a few weapons at her house too, nothing serious enough to warrant jumping in face-first-guns-blazing and getting themselves killed. "Then what the hell are we supposed to do?" she demanded of no-one in particular.

"Wait. We wait for Danny to call us…I guess…" Tucker sighed, "If he doesn't call us by lunch time tomorrow, we go over there, right?" After all it would be daylight then, and though it sounded corny, most evil ghosts they had encountered liked to wait for darkness if they were going to do something really bad…or so he liked to think anyway.

Knowing it was probably for the best Sam nodded in agreement, "Right," she agreed and thought it best to go home and sort out the few weapons she kept in her room, "I'll be over bright and early, Tuck, so you better not sleep in," she said with a ghost of a smile on her lips.

"No problem," Tucker replied half-heartedly as the goth girl left his room. He stood from his chair and rooted around in his disorganised closet for a damaged _Spector Deflector _that Danny had given him to research and fix, it could possibly come in handy…but only if it was fixed by tomorrow.

* * *

><p>Vlad threw yet another collection of papers straight across the room, in his defence he was really, really pissed off, although taking his anger out on helpless pieces of paper probably wasn't the best idea. Now the lab was littered with the stuff, the floor was buried under a sea of white sheets, some written on, some torn up and others crushed and thrown violently at the walls.<p>

Under one of the most powerful microscopes that money could buy Vlad stared daggers at the source if his frustration. Who knew that such a small thing could make the billionaire so angry? But then so did Daniel…

He had taken readings and from his trusty _'Scientia collectivu' _had identified all of the separate components thereby discovering what made the substance so dangerous. But what angered him most was that because Daniel was half-ghost the effects were rendered almost unpredictable! Their DNA was a combination of simple human chromosomes that were infected and combined with **ectoplasm**.

The '_Glaciem calidum' _was composed of Spiritual **equaplasym**, and there inlay the major problem. The two substances were like fire and ice, they were not meant to meet, for when they did the results were catastrophic. This could spell disaster for his (future) son!

He read that the two elements had only ever been combined once before in the whole history of creation, the passage was somewhat limited and obscure but it basically stated that the Ghost Zone was the result of a kind of 'war' between Ghosts and Spirits. When the two substances collided they tore a hole into the very fabric of time and space, creating a place fuelled by its raw energy. It was named the Ghost Zone, he believed because very few people knew the difference between Ghosts and Spirits, it had taken him a long time to learn the difference because Spirits were so much elusive than Ghosts.

With the exception of this one it seemed, Spirits tended to inhabit a small, undetectable region and rarely ventured beyond its borders. So what had caused this Spirit to venture so far away from home and attack him and Daniel like this? Maybe it was just bored. Vlad wasn't sure but he intended to find out…somehow.

The manuscript would give him no further information on the Calidae, nor would it give him the location of the 'Dark Zone' of the Ancients. He resisted the urge to throw it across the room like he had the papers, he really just wanted to throw things and punch things or destroy them…it just happened when he was angry.

Maybe if he just made sure that the equaplasym didn't overwhelm the boy's system he could make sure that they had ample time to come up with some kind of cure…before it burned Daniel from the inside. That wasn't something Vlad was too keen on seeing. He refused to sit and do nothing when Daniel's life was on the line…this one child meant more to him than…than what…exactly? He had no idea how to treat the boy. He wasn't sure how a father was supposed to treat his son…he couldn't act as his father had; he would only drive Daniel away. Maybe that was what **his** father had tried to do from the moment he was born. His father never loved him. Of that he was sure!

But Daniel already had a loving father…in Jack Fenton…that oaf…he didn't deserve to have a son like Daniel; the whole thing infuriated him whenever he thought of it. But Vlad would wait, his Little Badger was no idiot, he would one day realise that Jack was not good enough and he was. He would wait for that moment to welcome the boy home with open arms…but there was nothing wrong with helping Daniel realise Jacks' inadequacy…just to speed things up so that they could spend more time together as a father and son should.

But he wouldn't have any of those memories to look forward to if he let his son die, so he once more looked down through the microscope and noticed something that rendered him speechless once more. In the few minutes that he had been down here…though it had seemed much longer…the substance had grown, only by a millimetre or so but with his powerful microscope there was no question of its reliability or its accuracy.

Was this happening to Daniel…was the substance slowly overtaking the boy before Vlad even had the chance to do anything about it?

On a whim he gently pointed his index at the sample and let loose an infinitesimal blast of ectoplasm. The purple substance at once clashed with the equaplasym and he watched in astonishment as the two fought a mini-war under the lens. He felt the microscope quiver slightly under the pressure he had created.

After a minute his larger, raw sample of ectoplasm had completely destroyed the equaplasym and now Vlad believed that things might not be so bad after all, maybe he had another upper hand over his enemy.

But if he tried to overwhelm the equaplasym in Daniel's body perhaps the repercussions would be worse than a little shaking episode. He would have to think about this…one false move could cost his little pawn his life. Comparing Daniel to a Pawn didn't mean to say that the child was weak; the Pawn was a powerful piece if one knew how to use it - Daniel was not weak and he would not let the boy die.

He would have to test his new theory once Daniel was awake…it seemed he was spending too much time waiting…wondering if Daniel was alright and Vlad wasn't used to worrying about someone else. But Vlad needed to know how Daniel felt once he tried to affect the substance infiltrating his body and he couldn't ask if he was still unconscious so it would be unwise to do so.

As he made plans for this 'experiment' he left the lab and floated up to his elaborate bedroom taking only the thick tome with him.

It was too risky for them to stay here; Vlad placed the book onto his enormous 4 poster bed and opened his wardrobe. He then pulled out a black holdall and tossed it onto the floor from where it had lain at the bottom of the wardrobe for several years since he moved here after his 'election,' and began rifling through his clothes. After folding several things up and placing them into the bag he walked over to a built-in closet and took out a large wheeled suitcase and began to fill it up with clothes. He folded the _'Scientia collectivu' _in amongst the clothes in the holdall and continued to seize different object from around the room and added them into his suitcase.

Vlad had plenty of things and clothes at his Wisconsin Castle…but he didn't know if he was safe their either. He didn't want to risk it, so he packed anything that he would need as if he were going on holiday to a sparsely furnished hotel. They could always buy clothes for Daniel…but he would need to think carefully about this…if Daniel wasn't coherent by tomorrow he would have to take them both somewhere safe until he could discover what made them so interesting to the creature.

There was no doubt that they couldn't stay here, their location was known and the only protection they had was a quickly made shield that could fail them if it was attacked again. Once he had completed the majority of his packing he thought it an opportune moment to work on said shield…the first one would have to remain in Amity Park and he needed to start work on a second one to protect them if he went through with his plan to leave.

He went down to his still cluttered lab and rooted around for the plans of the device that protected them. Upon finding them on the floor he took them up to the sitting room where he laid them on the table and turned to the stereo. The room had been divested of its earlier inhabitants and cleaned thoroughly of the mess and blood from his earlier activities. He turned on the stereo and the atmosphere lightened as the beautiful sounds of classic violin music filled his senses.

Whilst he sat going over the plans and adding several improvements he listened to the inspiring music of his childhood, his favourite had always been Beethoven's Violin Concerto, and as he used the remote to skip to the 3rd Movement **(*2)** he listened intently to every note.

It wouldn't take him long to build another device to act as a shield for them, he could start building it soon, but he needed time to think. Where would he go that would give him enough time to work things out? His cabin retreat in the Rockies could be ideal…but it wouldn't provide them as much protection as he would like. His castle would also most likely be easy to discover and therefore not the best of hide-outs, after all a castle wasn't the most conspicuous of buildings, was it?

After a while he sensed another being in the room with him and he looked up to see Marion standing before him "Sir," she began "We took the humans to the hospital as you ordered and there were no problems."

"Good," he replied, only half listening to his maid. Then as if a light bulb had lit up he smiled, "Marion, I have a little job for you," he smiled and the maid only stared blankly at him in apprehension.

* * *

><p>A.N. Awww. Another nice scene, I must going soft in my old age…but there is more horror yet to come…you can be sure of that! Mwah ha ha ah! Evil Ghost writer laugh! Not a very fast chapter but we needed to learn more about the danger that our beloved hybrids are in.<p>

Anyway, at the start of the chapter I wanted to…obviously advance the plot…but I thought it was a good time to gradually start to introduce some of poor Vladdie's troubled past. I have already established that he left his parents home in England for…reasons still to come…and emigrated to the good old U.S of A where he attended college and met Jack and Maddie, his first…and last friends. This little sub-plot will attempt to explain why Vlad thinks the way that he does, as I shall endeavour to explain this to myself and to you **amazing** people out there!

But to advance his character I think I needed to explain what had made him the way he is, after all if he learned his philosophy from his father and was raised with it, he can't be blamed for being a total fruit-loop if he was raised by one, right? As I said before maybe you just think I'm rambling or that I'm a psychology freak...but whatever, let me know if you think there's something mentally wrong with me!

I think one of my weaknesses…or maybe it could be seen as a strength, is that despite all that Vlad has done to the Fenton's particularly Danny, I think he has real potential. And this has ultimately lead to me spending more time on this site than is healthy, and now adding to it myself…I'm really a lost case, aren't I?

* * *

><p><strong>(*1) <strong>I actually learnt a lot about treating wounds while I was researching how Vladdie would help Danny. So now, if any random ghost boy lands in my house all wounded I know exactly what to do! I didn't go into real detailed stuff, but I think I got the basics down okay…and obviously I added in the part where he used ectoplasm on it. Such Ingenuity…How do I do it? : ) LOL!

**(*2) **Beethoven's Violin Concerto…well what can I say, the whole thing is beautiful, but the 3rd Movement is one of the most beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard, it is VERY inspiring. No, I am not a classical music freak but I do appreciate the beauty of this music. If you search it in youtube you'll hopefully see what I mean. And it is the kind of music I can imagine Vlad listening to, I mean he probably does listen to other types of music from when he was in college like any other teenager, but this suited the moment best!


	11. Sceptical Decisions and Foresight

A.N. Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom…yadda yadda yadda…

Now, after the last chapter I was at a cross-road of ideas so to speak, I think I went the right way and that the reactions are in character. Vlad wouldn't act as he does without good reason so now we have some good old witty banter but I do advance the plot so that it works.

**Before you read this**, I just want to explain that I went over this chapter quite a lot and I couldn't think of anything plausible to happen other than what I have written, trust me I explored all other options! Vlad wouldn't just run and hide in Wisconsin or the Rockies or anywhere else really, they would be found too easily and he is used to doing this for himself he's a man of action I guess so he can't just sit on his laurels and wait around like me writing fanfics...heh heh!

Now that said; _meine Damen und Herren,_ I'll let you be the judges…

* * *

><p><strong>What Unusual halflives we lead<strong>

Chapter 11: Sceptical Decisions and Foresight

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><p>While the world was in darkness, a lone cloaked figure floated through the gloomy hallways of the Mayors' Mansion. The master of the house was preoccupied in his precious lab and was unlikely to notice another crisis if it hit him in the head singing 'this is a large crisis' at the top of its lungs whilst dancing the Macarena.<p>

As predicted the older hybrid had gone to 'rescue' the boy after all, despite his better judgement and self-preservation he had willingly put himself in danger for the child. He really did care too much for the Ghost Boy…and it would be his downfall…caring was an emotional weakness. But Vladimir Masters had few other weaknesses…and he was only human…**half human** but in the end they were all the same.

Deep down, the dark figure knew that child wanted nothing more than to revenge himself on the man and never look back from all of the anguish Plasmius had caused, but Daniel would **never **carry out those actions. He was too 'good.' From only this brief encounter it was clear that the child was no murderer…unlike the older half ghost. But Daniel also respected him; he respected the control he had over his powers, his position in life and the admiration he was able to command of others. And it clearly aggravated and distressed the child to no end.

But the man himself; Vladimir Masters…need anymore be said? It was true; the man was indeed an intellectual leader and it did demand respect and awe. Even though they had come fully prepared and versed on his manners, his habits and his background, the figure had become caught up in the whole thing.

But…there was a job to do, and 'going native' as the humans called it, would not help that mission, there was a great evil loosed upon the world and little to stop it from getting what it wanted. The Decuriones would be delighted with the discoveries….but as the cloaked figure flew up into the midnight's sky an emotional internal voice echoed, and had to wonder…

…was this right? **(*1)**

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><p>Vlad was sitting in his lab, he had never before been prone to work in such mess, but for the moment he had no choice. It was now well past 4 in the morning and he had been working on a new, portable shield to protect Daniel and himself if…<strong>when <strong>they left the mansion.

There was no question about it, the way things were they needed to leave, it was too risky to stay here and wait for another attack...and he had a good idea of where they should go...however there was still one thing that would be essential for his success...

But he still had Daniel's injury to worry about; was leaving really a good idea with a wounded child in tow? Should he abandon the boy…NO…that was not an option, a father should never abandon his child. He may not be Daniel's biological father but he believed, no he knew he was far more suited than Jack was to look after and guide the boy.

He had been alternating his attention between his almost completed device and a wad of papers on his theories about the parasitic wound that was threatening his Little Badger's life. After he had shocked the sample with his own ectoplasm he had monitored it constantly over the past hours; and it appeared to have been completely destroyed. But looks could be deceiving and he would have to try his theory on Daniel before he could be sure. He didn't really want to cause the boy any unnecessary suffering but this was essential for his survival, so it had to be done.

Vlad was still curious about Daniel's earlier violent reaction to his attack, he knew he had shocked the child with the smallest amount of electricity he could generate, and the results still worried him. If he was to test his theory would he just render the boy unconscious again thereby making things worse for them?

He sighed and added the finishing touches to the device, he was still unsure of a name but it wasn't important. It was able to repel ghosts and spirits so it held tremendous power and condensing it to 'travel size' had been no easy task. Under other circumstances he would have rejoiced at his scientific breakthrough…but there was a time and a place for celebration and a dark, disorganised lab at 4 in the morning was not the place for a one-man party.

His scientific breakthrough in spirit repelling technology had been designed to be inconspicuous and it was not meant to attract attention. It was constructed of a combination of the strongest elements at his disposal and it was left with a shiny silver outer layer, inside, a combination of microscopic hardware created the necessary charge to generate the shield which he would be able to expand with his own electrical charge with a single touch.

He had managed to make it small enough to fit into the palm of his hand, and he supposed it resembled a futuristic-looking remote but with a single circular button in the centre. Simple but effective…not a bad motto to live by, although he would have preferred something with a little more theatrics and flair. But discretion was key if he wanted to survive.

It was truly one of his finest achievements and he was exceedingly proud of his genius. He had never been one to fold under pressure anyway, and this was the proof…his life and the life of 'his' child was in danger and he **still** took pride in the aesthetics of his work!

Once he was sure it was finished he slipped the device into his pocket for safe-keeping and turned his gaze back to his papers with a frown. He could now do no more until Daniel awoke and Vlad was now entertaining the idea of speeding things up by rousing the boy himself. Soon it would be necessary anyway and after all there was no time like the present.

He had…out of boredom and for the sake of appearances…rang the hospital and had been informed of the condition of the remaining Fenton's. Apparently they were going to remain hospitalised a considerable length of time and fortunately for him it meant that he wouldn't have then getting in his way whilst he sorted this horrible mess out.

Vlad was still unsure on a number of aspects and it irked him that he couldn't find any solutions. He didn't know why he was being chased and targeted…he didn't know why Daniel was either and he wanted to know what had started the whole thing. But he just didn't have the answers…but he knew there were people that did...he just had to find them.

All he did know was that he…and Daniel…were in serious trouble.

As his concern continued to mount and increase he finally abandoned his papers and teleported up to the dark room in which he had left the sleeping in his human form he landed silently beside the bed and sighed as he found the child still sleeping soundly in the clean bandages he had changed a couple of hours ago. Most of the minor wounds had already begun to scab over and would most likely have healed completely by tomorrow night.

Daniel's quiet breathing was the only sound in the room and to Vlad it seemed loud enough to completely block out the rest of the room, even the rest of the world, as he studied the beds' slumbering occupant. He would not get into the child's good graces by waking him while he was wounded like this, but it was necessary.

Vlad sat on the edge of the mattress and lightly shook his shoulder, "Daniel…" he said forcefully as the child's eyes flittered under his eyelids.

Danny's eyes flashed green for a moment as he vaguely registered a familiar voice…maybe it was calling his name…it didn't matter, he was too tired to move let alone open his eyes right now, so he ignored it.

"Daniel…" he heard again and whimpered in annoyance…this was quickly becoming annoying.

"…Mmm…go 'way…" Danny sighed; he pathetically attempted to swat away the voice with his right hand and tried to snuggle closer into the soft blankets he was lying on. Why did stuff always get in the way when all he wanted to do was sleep? He hadn't had a good night's sleep in months, and although he wasn't fully aware of his surroundings or of the amount of time he had been asleep, it was probably considerably more sleep than he had gotten at home recently. And once again something had come along to piss him off by waking him up…again…what was with the world lately? Had he done something really bad that he was completely unaware of that he was being punished for?

"Wake up," the voice commanded again and Danny felt torn between obeying it and continuing to ignore it.

"…n…no…" he managed to mumble and his lungs seemed to protest at the added effort, his eyes practically scream in agony at the internal battle as he tried to open them. He needed to see what was happening…he hated being blind; it was a dangerous disadvantage, and although he probably had about as much strength as a new born kitten at least he would be able to **see**…

"Daniel!" the voice seemed to grow more angry and louder until finally he felt a sharp pressure on his face and he jolted awake with a scream.

Vlad had been growing increasingly irritated at the lack of response he was getting from the child and just after he had lightly slapped Danny on the cheek he smiled in amusement as the reaction. The boy had jumped awake and tried to transform in a dim flash of light but he had failed painfully and he winced, this of course didn't go unnoticed by Vlad but Danny was too busy now glaring at the 'enemy.'

"VLAD…WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" Danny shouted automatically assuming that, as he saw Vlad, that the man had done something bad. Then he remembered that the man had woken him…by hitting him no less! He was not impressed!

"Good morning to you too, Daniel," Vlad whispered sarcastically and watched as the boy tried to move quickly away from him, but was wincing from the strain.

"What happened…where's mom and dad…and Jazz?" Danny asked as he strained his eyes to make out the room in the darkness."What did you do with them?" Danny demanded and met Vlad's eyes with a furious expression of his own. He knew that Vlad didn't like to be interrupted but the safety of his family was paramount, and he didn't have to explain who, or what he meant.

"They are in hospital, Daniel" Vlad replied indifferently, clearly annoyed that the conversation had drifted away from **his** chosen topic. "They'll be fine…eventually…"

"What d'you mean 'eventually,' Vlad?" Danny demanded as Vlad's cryptic answer only served to increase his anxiety.

"Exactly what it sounds like; they are not fine but they will be…that is what hospitals are for, after all," Vlad smirked.

"Then why aren't I in hospital?" Danny wondered aloud as he concluded that the very large expensive looking bedroom he was in was not a hospital room; there was no stark white walls or stiff bedsheets.

"Half-ghosts tend to be frowned upon by doctors, Little Badger," Vlad replied as though it was the simplest answer to a most uncomplicated question, but he would never forget his experiences after the accident. And he would never step foot inside the horrid buildings unless he had no other choice. He didn't fear them…he hated them. And it would make things even more difficult if any doctor found anything amiss with the boy. Hospitals were out of the question for him and for Daniel.

Danny was startled at the look of concern took over Vlad's face, part of him though that it was a caring look that did notbelong on the sour, evil face of half-ghost billionaire Vladimir Masters. But the other part said that it was swiftly becoming a familiar expression that said that the man cared for him, Danny ignored it…it could not be real…it was one of Vlad's tricks…it must be. "Oh," he muttered, it felt increasingly strange to be grateful to Vlad…so he said nothing else.

"Now, I have a theory that might help you," Vlad said after an uncomfortable silence and began pacing the length of the room again.

"…me?" Danny repeated incredulously, still finding it strange that the older hybrid wanted to help him…maybe he just wanted to save his own skin…but that didn't explain why. "Alright…what's your angle, Plasmius?" He demanded and pulled himself up against the headboard of the bed.

"Angle…really Daniel you can be so paranoid, is it really so difficult for you to trust me?" Vlad asked with mock-horror.

"Frankly…yes…"

"Oh dear…I am hurt…" Vlad chuckled and looked over at the boy's indignant expression, "Well, you have two choices you can either trust me and live…or leave and die…"

"Is that a threat?" Danny shouted.

"No, it is a fact. If you leave here that Calidae will find you and kill you…not that you would put up much of a fight after last time…or you can listen to me and we can both survive. As heartless as you think me," he added as he saw the boy about to protest, "It is of no benefit to me if you get yourself killed because you are too proud to admit you need my help." The child thought he was heartless, if he told Daniel that he actually did care like a father he would 'flip' and no doubt run off. So it was best just to let him hear what he wanted to hear, and for now it would have to do.

Danny knew what Vlad said was true, he didn't stand a chance against that monster…and he could only vaguely remember the fight. But he had no problem remembering how much it had hurt…it had practically gloated over his powerlessness as it had tossed him around his own sitting room like a rag doll. What kind of monster did that…why didn't it just kill him and be done with it…instead of dragging things out so cruelly? If he stayed he would no doubt put more people in danger because of his hatred for Vlad. But surely Vlad would make him do some 'evil' things that he would regret, the man had always wanted him as a creepy little apprentice anyway, and this was an opportunity for him to take advantage of.

"What did you have in mind?" Danny asked reluctantly and was rewarded with a strange smile from his 'enemy.' He knew somewhere along the line he was going to regret asking Vlad that…but he had little other choice.

"I need to figure out what is happening, I can't do that here…" Vlad began, but clearly his idea wasn't so attractive to Danny.

"So…you're suggesting…we…run away?"

"No. I'm suggesting a…tactical retreat at most…look…" Vlad sighed and began talking quickly, "I would not suggest it unless the situation was dire…we both need time to recover but…"

"I'm not** running** anywhere with **you**!" Danny shouted he was appalled that Vlad would even suggest it, he may not like then man but he'd never thought he was a coward!

"We're not **running**…didn't your father ever teach you to choose your battles?" Vlad replied angrily, "There is no point in fighting one that you have no hope of winning, it is suicide, until I can discover more about the enemy…"

"What more do you need to know? It big, bad and ugly and it wants to kill things…like **me**!"

"You stupid child…sometimes I wonder how you've survived so long with such a simple mentality; do you even know why it wants to kill you?" Vlad asked.

Danny stared at the man, "…err…" he muttered and rubbed the back of his neck as he racked his mind for answers.

"Do you know why it suddenly came here…of all places and targeted you or me?"

"…well…I…I…"

"No. In short you know nothing about the enemy that so obviously wants you dead…really, Daniel it is fortunate for you that I never intended on killing you or you would have been dead on the very first day." Vlad sighed.

"Hey!" Danny protested, he wasn't weak…he hated being called weak!

"No, you will listen to me; stop acting like a child and…"

"I am a…" he shouted, but Vlad was louder.

"DANIEL!" Vlad shouted and Danny's ear drums protested at the loud volume that the man's voice had taken. "Do you really have a death wish? Do you want to die?"

"…No…" Danny sighed reluctantly, maybe he should have said 'yes,' just to spite the man.

"Well then, I know you are aware of the danger you are in if you say here, why else would it attack your family?"

"Are you saying it's my fault that they…I didn't mean for them to…I was doing fine before you showed up…I could've…" Danny stuttered and avoided Vlad's eyes…but the man was right…he had put his family in danger, not Vlad. It was his fault his family had been hurt and were now in hospital, not Vlad's.

"You're damn lucky I came to help you otherwise you would be dead now!"

At this Danny could say nothing, he knew it was true, Vlad really have saved him…and his family, even though he didn't have to. He really did owe the man now…and it hurt to admit that to himself…so how was he going to admit it to Vlad? "Now…" Vlad continued, "As I said…I have a theory, but I need you to **listen** to it before you try and storm off."

"Fine,"

"Your wound…it seems to be weak to electricity, it is the only explanation for the way you reacted to my attack…I have also conducted a little experiment and I think I have sufficient evidence to support my theory," Vlad explained, it was like the man had a teacher switch that he could turn off and on...weird.

"…and…" Danny muttered, not understanding where Vlad was going with this…he couldn't mean that he wanted to electrocute him again…please god he hoped not.

"Tell me what it feels like first, is it hot…cold…what?"

"Why?" Danny asked, but caught the impatient look on Vlad's face so he answered; "It's warm."

"What about when I shocked you?"

"Worse…it was like it was on fire," Danny muttered and looked away from the older hybrid; he really, really hoped Vlad didn't want to play pseudo-doctor and try and electrocute the thing off of him. "Oh no I know what you're thinkin' and it's so not gonna happen dude," Danny protested and waved his arms at Vlad…the dude was nuts if he thought Danny would just go along with this little 'theory.'

"Now really….you've figured out my evil plot so easily…I'm astounded," Vlad's sarcasm was back in full force and it slapped Danny in the face…kind of like the man himself did. "But I am doing this to help you, you know,"

"No, I **don't** know, and if you think I'm just gonna…AHHH!" Danny screamed as Vlad raised his hand over the injury and both began to glow with lethal purple electricity.

Vlad's hand was charged with the smallest amount of power he could manage as he concentrated the energy to the wound only, he had become impatient with Daniel's childish protestations…Vlad would just have to earn his trust the hard way…once his theory worked.

"What about now?" he asked and moved his hand away and watched as the ugly black scab crackled with his residual concentrated power.

"OWWW!" Danny yelled and stared up at the man in horror. That had really hurt! He covered the injury protectively and scooted to the far end of the bed with renewed vigour, one good point of electrocution was that it woke him up. He didn't feel tired or weak as he lifted his left hand and it glowed angrily with green ectoplasm ready to throw Vlad into the wall and beat the man into the ground for that.

However Vlad's eyes lit up and he smiled as soon as Danny's eyes shone green and he was able to encase his hand in ectoplasm…maybe it had worked…a little. He studied it carefully and was rewarded when he saw the black crystallite pulsate and it seemed to shrink in on itself momentarily.

Danny seemed to notice this as well and his breathing increased as he now felt a cold chill emanate from the usually burning wound. And the familiar feeling of fatigue seemed to come and go…it was strange….one second he was knackered and the next he felt like he was on a sugar rush.

Vlad thought that, whether it was sentient or not the substance could tell if it was being targeted rather than the host and it was obviously not happy. And he had clearly been right about it…but gloating would have to wait.

"Huh…that's weird…" Danny muttered at the strange mix of feelings he was experiencing…this had never happened before…and from a kid who was thrown through walls -repeatedly- and fought ghosts on a regular basis, that was saying something.

"How do you feel now?" Vlad asked as the wound finally seemed to settle and seized its crackling.

"…err…err…" he muttered helpfully.

"I was hoping for a more intelligent answer than that," Vlad smirked.

Danny's eyes once more shone green in anger as he scowled at Vlad…he didn't think he'd ever glared at someone so much in such a short space of time before in his life. But Vlad irritated him so much…he deserved it! "Different," he answered.

"Care to elaborate,"

Danny growled again and added, "Just different, it's not warm anymore…it's cold, and I don't really feel tired but that's just because you just **electrocuted **me **again**!"

"Perhaps, but perhaps not…can you morph?" Vlad wondered aloud, but once more the boy was reluctant to comply and Vlad fought the urge to just attack him and force Daniel to do so. But he was surprised as, after a long minute of silence, Daniel sighed and transformed effortlessly into his alter-ego. Hah! He had been right…there was no other explanation, when Daniel had attempted to morph before he had failed but now he had succeeded! Ha! "I was rig…"

"Don't say it…" Danny muttered and lifted a hand to his face, he really hated when Vlad was right...or even when it just **looked** like he could be right, Vlad didn't need another ego boost…it still didn't justify shocking him, or in Danny's book it didn't anyway. Nothing warranted getting electrocuted!

"I suppose until I can find a cure that will be the only way I can treat it," Vlad noticed the boy's dejected demeanour and smiled ruefully, "Think of it as practice for our fights."

"Great," Danny muttered and morphed back as he remembered the bandages that he had partly noticed when he had been yelling at Vlad...some things it seemed were more important, and yelling rather than being covered in bandages was one of them. He began unpeeling some of the bindings off his torso; they were uncomfortable and mostly unnecessary as he felt no serious injury…save the obvious...of course. He was covered in them… there were bandages on his arms and legs as well and he tossed them aside…was he supposed to be Tutankhamun for god's sake? He would be battered and bruised for a while but he had had far worse before now.

Once he was finished he only vaguely wondered how they got there…but Vlad had _saved_ him…maybe he just had one of his servants do it after that. He doubted Vlad would have looked after him himself…but he just couldn't remember…he must have been **so** out of it!

"Sir…" they, heard and there was a knock at the door, "Sir, I have the…oh…" Danny felt his ghost sense go off and was instantly on the alert as the woman started at him, he transformed again and glared at the open door. It was that same maid from before, the one who had tried to give him a heart attack, and when she had failed she'd tried to kill him! Stupid Vlad! Stupid maid! Stupid weird house!

Vlad just sighed at the paranoid child and walked over to Marion; he stood in the doorway and exchanged a few quiet words that even Danny couldn't hear. Vlad had clearly taken his sensitive hearing into account…that fruit loop. She handed something small over to him and then bowed and left, Vlad closed the door behind her and turned back to the bed. "You'll want to get ready; I expect we'll be leaving soon…I had Byron fetch you some decent clothes,"

"Byron?" Danny repeated, but it went unnoticed by Vlad, the man was clutching something in his hand but upon noticing the boy's curiosity he pocketed it.

"Hurry up, I'll be across the hall when you're done…bathroom's through that door," he pointed to a closed door across from him and teleported out of the room. Danny sighed at the man's abrupt departure and pushed himself out of the bed, stumbling into said bathroom.

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><p>Vlad, encouraged by his recent success materialised in his bedroom with a smile, maybe if he played his cards right neither of them would have to get hurt and he could still come out on top. He glanced down at the small, antiquated mirror from his pocket; small enough to fit in his palm it was circular and engraved around the edges with faded Latin inscriptions and dusty old jewels.<p>

Once he figured out how it worked it would hopefully show him the way to the infamous 'Dark Zone' that he had only read about. If the creature hunting them had originated from the Ancients perhaps they could at least explain to him why he was on the receiving end of an angry Calidae. And then 'convince' them to do something about it, that thing had disrupted his life enough and as Vlad saw it, it was all their fault!

He had been in possession of the location of this fabled mirror for a long time and taking it had obviously been no problem for his maid…so it would have been a walk in the park for him. Marion respected him and Larson feared him, but together they could break into any human security system…even without ghost powers so it had been no problem. They were his servants, and were not above stealing a paltry little trinket from government property if their master told them to.

But this was no paltry little trinket…and he almost laughed at the fact that its wealthy owners had so poor of a 'human' security system for such a valuable 'ghostly' object. Sometimes people really were stupid! But he wasn't complaining; it made things all the more easier for him. So he sat down at his desk and tried to occupy his mind as he plotted his next move.

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><p>Danny had decided to forgo a warm bath in favour of a quick shower, he didn't know if Vlad would be angry if he took too long…so he didn't want to risk it. Now that he had so many mirrors he could study his wounds better. Most of them were now just small scars and scabs that would heal by tomorrow probably…but he wondered how they had gotten to that stage so quickly, he had been badly tossed around and bleeding last thing he remembered.<p>

But he didn't know and wasn't intending to dwell on the fact…whatever it was it had saved him a lot of discomfort and pain. Maybe Vlad had…nah…Vlad wouldn't want to get rid of his discomfort…he would want to make it worse…

As he looked around the overly elaborate room Danny couldn't help but roll his eyes, who needed so many mirrors and expensive things in one, of probably a hundred bathrooms anyway? There were plants and marble counters that created a calming atmosphere which helped elevate some of his worry and uncertainty.

As Vlad had said there were clean clothes waiting on the counter by the pristine sink and he had examined them before taking a shower. Apparently this Byron person, who Danny assumed was another of Vlad's dodgy servants, had bought…or stolen some expensive looking clothes in his size. Creep.

There was a cashmere black turtle neck sweater and black jeans…apparently they thought he should sport the black on black look now. Danny didn't really care right now though; the clothes were clean and soft so he had no reason to complain. He turned off the shower head, phased the warm water off his body and began to pull on the new clothes careful around the black wound…what was it with that colour lately?

He ran his fingers though his hair with a sigh then left the comfort of the tranquil bathroom and found himself back in the empty bedroom. Just was about to go and tidy up the discarded bandages he had removed earlier he found that it had already been done and the bed had been made once more. Wow. That had been quick.

Vlad had said he would be across the hall, but as Danny opened the door into the corridor he found himself wishing that the man had been more specific. The 'corridor' was never-ending and there were dozens of doors! He face palmed and tried the one closest to him…the door opened into a dark room…there was no-one in there so clearly this wasn't the room Vlad had meant. "Vlad," he queried and looked around for someone to give him directions.

No-one...

After trying several more doors he was successful…and a little bit frustrated…and found Vlad kneeling at the foot of a huge 4 poster bed. He was gazing down into an old oak chest as Danny opened the door, "You could've said **which** door," he moaned.

"Now where would the fun be if I did that?" Vlad asked and lifted a long straight sword from the chest; its scabbard was a beautiful dark blue with gold inlay on the chape and locket, **(*2)** the hilt was the single most elaborate piece of gold Danny had ever laid eyes on. Vlad had serious ego issues.

Danny felt his ghost sense come from his mouth…but it was the weakest blue mist he had ever felt. It was very strange. "What is that thing?" Danny asked, not taking his eyes of the sword.

"It is a sword, Daniel…to be precise it was modelled on a Renaissance English longsword with a double edged blade and cost me a small fortune." Vlad replied, but strangely his voice carried no hint of sarcasm. He had pulled the blade from the scabbard and it made an awe inspiring 'swooshing' sound as the gold in the fuller shimmered in the light.

"I **know** it's a sword Vlad, why is it setting of my ghost sense?" Danny demanded, this had got him really confused...a ghost sword, now he'd seen everything!

"Because it is technically part ghost, I had one of Wulf's claws ground down and mixed in with the metal." Vlad explained.

"…eww…err why?" Danny eyed the sword in Vlad's hands.

"You probably already know that Wulf can literally tear portals into and out of the Ghost Zone, I wanted to know if I could do the same with this," he replied and gently lowered the blade back into the scabbard.

"And can you?" Danny asked, he hated to admit it but he was intrigued. It was a beautiful sword; with potentially huge power…sometimes Vlad had his moments.

"Yes," Vlad smiled, "although it is risky and dangerous…it does work. I needed something strong enough to withstand the force of tearing a portal into another dimension; and I had this made from the same material as the door on my ghost portal. It's practically indestructible," it was only now that Vlad noticed that Danny was actually interested in his creation, he hadn't seen it before because he had been so enraptured by it himself. Maybe the boy wasn't a lost cause after all. "Here," he tossed it over to Daniel who caught it deftly with his right hand; his reflexes had improved considerably too.

Danny continued to turn the scabbard over in his hands; he had never really handled a blade…except in a few ghost fights…but you tended to learn quickly when someone was trying to slice your head off.

"I've never had occasion to use it, save when I tested it," Vlad said and studied the boy's reactions carefully. It was clear that Daniel knew how to handle a blade; they had fought with swords before and though Vlad knew he was the superior, considering the boy had had no formal training he wasn't half bad.

"So what're you doing with it now?" Danny asked as he finally was able to take his eyes from the weapon. "I don't think it'll be much use to you," he smiled slightly.

"It may come in handy…you really do need to learn to think ahead Daniel," Vlad replied and pried the sword away from Daniel. He then walked over to a holdall bag on the floor, ignoring a suitcase beside it and picked up the bag, it looked heavy and was bulging out in places. "Now, come…I have several more things to sort out before we leave," Vlad lead him out of the room as he carried the bag and sword.

Danny was surprised at Vlad's calm demeanour; it was like they went on **holiday** together all the time and this was just another little outing for them, not a possible life or death situation. It was seriously weird. They floated down through the floor and Danny followed him down into the man's lab.

Vlad dumped the bag inside his own, high tech Spectre Speeder, he had of course improved Jack's designs…as he always had in college…and created a more sleek, manoeuvrable all-terrain vehicle. Ignoring the boy's indignant look as he observed the vehicle, like The Fenton's design it could fly in high altitudes, but his could also appear more conspicuous than a big grey and green Assault Vehicle. He preferred a more archetypal Bentley look, a shiny black look that screamed expense and class.

He had decided that tracking down the Ancients was more important than anything at the moment…in a sense it was a retreat…but it was a tactical move that would…should give them he upper hand…once they found the Ancients that is. He wasn't entertaining the possibility that he would come up empty handed.

Vladimir Masters would succeed in finding the Ancients were thousands of others had failed; his years of painstaking research would help of course. And he could only hope that they would take the Calidae by surprise…this was not going to be easy.

While Daniel was circling the Speeder he also called in the Mayoral office and fabricated a story that would explain his absence and told the same thing to each of his companies, they could function without him for a while, he hoped. Then he pocketed the phone and turned to face the child.

"Thief," Danny muttered and crossed his arms, Vlad merely grinned. "You're not gonna tell me we're going into the Ghost Zone, right?" he laughed.

"Of course," Vlad replied simply and raised a curious sliver eyebrow.

"WHY?" Danny shouted.

"What did I say about planning ahead…the creature has origins with the Ancients, if we find them…"

"HA! Right, Vlad; find the Ancients…sure thing I'll just go and look on the map…oh right they don't show up on a map…even the Infi-Map doesn't show you where they live, good plan…I'm doomed!"

"Your faith in me is astonishing. But please remember that unlike you I am always prepared; I do have a map, I have a defence against the Calidae should it show up, and I have an escape plan should I need it…but considering that the Ghost Zone has been its place of imprisonment I doubt it will, it will want to savour its freedom while it thinks we're weak." Vlad wasn't sure whether or not he was just trying to convince himself on that point but it seemed plausible. "After all, it is hardly likely to think I made the connection between it and its gaolers," he added.

"And the…err…suitcase in your room?" Danny asked, still only half believing Vlad, what he was saying did make sense though.

"Backup; if it has helpers I must give them something to follow, if anyone asks Byron is driving me to the Rockies on an extended vacation…it's not unheard of for me to do so…you of course - my _nephew_, are accompanying me to convalesce after the obvious shock of having your family hospitalised in an explosion while you were visiting your friends," Vlad smiled, clearly proud of his little validation and its credibility .

"Fantastic," Danny muttered, "I hate the Rockies Uncie Vlad," he pouted and rolled his eyes as Vlad opened the door and climbed into the vehicle with a grin.

Danny reluctantly followed and jumped into his side of the vehicle, then the portal opened and all was swirling green…

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><p>A.N. Ta Da! What d'ya think? I like this chapter, I think it sets up a good outline for some more of the story and for their relationship... after all the trust has to come from somewhere. But there will be some twists and turns along the way. <strong>No plain sailing ya might say! <strong>

- So I now have three major 'artefacts' in my warped little universe...I have the _'Scientia collectivu'_ a book written by the Ancients for the Ancients_; _it's a kind of telepathic book that gives you the information on a certain subject and dislikes being thrown around!

- Then I introduced a mirror that acts kind of like the Infi-Map, only it shows the location of the Ancients rather than every location of the Zone. I didn't want the Infi-map to give the location of the 'Dark Zone' because then people would have found it easily before now. I will later stress the importance of Vlad's research into the Ancients is the only way he has these two objects now.

- The last one I suppose isn't really an artefact but I am hoping that it will be of great importance later on in the story, the sword that Vlad made with nigh all unbreakable metal...and of course him being Vlad; gold, it can tear portals into and out of the Zone which I think is really cool and dangerous! He would of course take it with him in case they need a quick escape...cuz we all know Vladdie likes to think ahead! I guess I'll give the sword and mirror names in the next chapter or so, it just did'nt seem right to tell you to much in one chapter, I don't want to be seen as being overgenerous!

So what d'ya think...to much too soon? Anyway T.T.F.N ; )

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><p><strong>(*1)<strong> Did you guess who the 'dark figure' is, did ya? I love to know who you think it is…who does it come across as being to you? 'Cuz I'm not telling you yet! '_Decuriones_' is the Latin for 'Senators'…make of that what you will…

**(*2)** If you didn't know the chape and locket are the opposite ends of the scabbard of a sword. And the Fuller is the centre of the blade…you can probably search it on wiki or google or something. I can't help my obsession I love swords I want a huge room full of my future collection. At the moment I only know how to use a Fencing Foil and Sabre…and I'm hardly a champion but I do win some fights ; )

- I suppose it helps when you have people who don't go easy on you, if you just learn with people who don't try their best to beat you you'd never learn anything. It's different of course 'cuz Danny has ghosts that actually **do** want to kill him…but y'know what I mean. But there's one girl I really don't get along with in fencing class and we're always at each other's throats so to speak! It's fun really…but not so fun when I loose!

Anyway you don't want to read about me rambling on so I'll see you on the flip side dudes!


	12. Fight or Flight, Danny?

A.N. I read this through like a billion times cuz I wanted to get it right, like I said last time there were several ways this could have gone but I think it works like this. I am quite proud of the way it turned out and I would have uploaded this sooner but the site wouldn't let me login, it kept saying 'web page is not available,' and after the millionth time of trying I got the message : ( I really hate computers sometimes! Anyone else had this problem?

But anyway enough about stupid, annoying, technical difficulties it's working now and that's that! Now, there are some important developments in this chapter which I will talk about, and my reasons for them, at the end so that I don't confuse you. !Enjoy, and please let me know if my pride is misplaced!

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><p><strong>What Unusual halflives we lead<strong>

Chapter 12: Fight or Flight, Danny?

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><p>...A long, awkward silence...<p>

...Tense, thick air...

Both of these things had been irritating Danny immensely for the last…well he didn't even know how long he had been irritated for because he had no watch but it seemed like hours. His last watch had been destroyed, or should he say blown to kingdom come by Ember a few months ago and he didn't want to waste more money that he didn't have on yet another watch that would only last a week if he was lucky.

So now he was watch-less, bored, and stuck in a confined _Spectre Speeder_ with Vlad…the man who had stolen said design from his dad, and who was now acting like they were still on a harmless little outing in the park. Oh yeah, that had been irritating him too. Danny had climbed into the back of the vehicle and sat with the ghost sword on his lap after nothing but silence from Vlad. The young hybrid had tried to initiate conversation several times if only to alleviate the awkwardness, but he had failed miserably. He didn't know what to say, so he was moping in the back seat whilst still admiring the blade that so strangely set of his ghost sense. He couldn't help it. He was like a little kid who'd just been given a new toy…except it wasn't his, it was Vlad's, and he was just the jealous next door neighbour.

Vlad was still keeping a smile off his face as he spared yet another glance in the rear view mirror at Daniel. The boy had scurried out of the front seat about 10 minutes ago and had gone instantly for the sword beside the holdall; clearly Danny was captivated by the ghostly weapon, and it gave Vlad a chance to look down into the Ancient mirror.

His years of painstaking research fuelled by avid curiosity and an unrestricted cash flow, had allowed him to uncover the locations and properties of many objects linked to the Ancients. Many of which had been overlooked and forgotten about, but the _Speculi-Charta_ **(*1)** was probably one of the strangest he had ever encountered. Its reflecting surface was similar to the Ghost Zone's atmosphere; it swirled and spiralled with white and silver occasionally forming shadowy directions. Each image so far had been a location he had driven past; The Ghost King's Castle, the River of Revulsion, the Carnivorous Canyons, the Perfidious Path and many more strangely alliterated places.

His attention had been focused solely on getting from A to B and so he had almost forgotten the boy who was sitting in the back seat. Vlad did regret not using this time to actually have a conversation with Daniel, when they weren't fighting or shouting they…actually the only 'conversations' they had were when they were fighting and shouting.

But maybe now was the time to change that.

Meanwhile, Danny had been battling internally about how he was supposed to act for a while now; he still couldn't believe that Vlad had saved his life, it defied all logic and everything he had previously thought to be true about the older hybrid was brought into question by it. Vlad had never put himself in danger purely to save him, it just wasn't Vlad! But he had, it was all very strange. Danny couldn't believe that this was some kind of a trick anymore…it was real, they were both in** real** danger and his family had gotten hurt because of it.

As he turned his head and stared listlessly out of the nearest window Danny couldn't prevent an involuntary shiver from running down his spine, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and cold goose bumps shivered down his arms. The black sweater he was wearing helped him to warm him back up after he quickly tore his gaze from the window and stared down at his matching black shoes. The nice homely feeling from the swirling green atmosphere was long gone and he had to admit, as a ghost…he missed it.

But now that his attention was back on track his internal debate picked up again with gusto and the little voice called his 'conscience' was slapping him in the face for his continuing obstinacy. He had thanked the man before…granted it had only been for feeding him supper 2 days ago - not for saving his life from a shit-scary monster…but it was still difficult. It was impossible to forget all of the shit Vlad had put him through just because of one little good deed. Although saving someone's life was probably the **biggest**-little good deed a person could do…

Danny also knew that if he said nothing like this he'd regret it, and maybe Vlad could see that he didn't have to be an evil nutcase to get Danny's attention. Saving a person's life tended to alter the way you thought about someone…more so than manipulation, or plotting and scheming to murder said person's father and marry their mother. Not that he was naming names. But it prompted Danny to at least try and voice this to Vlad, maybe he would just laugh at him, but he still had to say it.

"Hey…err…Vlad," he muttered and Vlad turned his head back slightly to show that he was listening.

"Hmm," Vlad replied loquaciously, this was probably just another childish 'are we there yet' questions anyway. Danny had asked that at least 6 times and looking down at his gold Rolex watch Vlad deduced that it was around 5.30 in the morning, they had only been here for just over an hour. But children had little patience it seemed.

Vlad had neglected to inform Danny about the mirror but Danny hadn't asked him about it, he had just tried to get him to talk about why they were looking for the Ancients over and over and over. It was safe to say that after explaining it twice already; Vlad had given up on conversation and his eyes were fixed on the unnaturally empty scenery before him.

"…err…I err…" Danny muttered and rubbed his upper right arms with his left hand, this was gonna be really difficult.

"No, we're not there yet, and if you ask me again I will personally see to it that you…" Vlad answered angrily, he wasn't really listening and so he just gave a similar reply as he had last time although he never got to finish what would have been an impressingly imaginative threat.

"That wasn't what I was going to say," Danny answered quietly, he couldn't keep up this silence forever; it would just make him the jerk in this scenario. Vlad had saved his life and when someone saved your life you said 'thank you,' whether you liked them or not.

Vlad really did turn his head round and stared curiously back at the teen; Daniel's nervousness was almost palpable as their blue eyes met, "Then what, dear boy?" He asked and slowed the vehicle down a little, the last thing he needed was to lose track of where he was and start from scratch. "If it's any more of your backseat driving then I really don't…"

"Thank you," Danny blurted out and he blinked his gaze quickly to the wall of the Speeder, suddenly its smooth metal surface was the most fascinating thing in the world. "I know you didn't have to come after me, and you saved my family even though you didn't have to…you probably didn't want to…I still don't get why, but you still saved my life too…so err, thanks," he unsteadily finished and still refused to look at Vlad.

Clearly this had been eating the boy up for a while and Vlad smiled at his tense manner, "I assure you, Daniel that I have an excellent reason for everything that I do," he replied and turned his attention back to his navigation. Inwardly he was surprised at the boys outburst, he hadn't really expected that, what was he supposed to say; 'You're welcome, it was nothing?' This situation was so messed up and it obviously had both of them a more than a little confused. But it was to be expected; when two people who were otherwise 'hated' rivals were in fatal danger from a common enemy and could only look after each other, a person was somewhat inclined to alter their way of thinking.

"…err right…" Danny nodded and already the air felt less tense, maybe he should have thanked the man sooner than this, but he had done now so the awkwardness was officially over.

"How are your wounds?" Vlad asked and Danny's head snapped up at the question. He hadn't been expecting that, not in a million years coming from Vlad, but he was still surprised at his speedily recovery.

"Fine…actually they healed up really quickly this time," Danny's voice clearly reflected his confusion as Vlad glanced back at him with a smile.

"Yes, I wasn't completely sure if my methods would work for you since I can heal myself fairly easily with electrically charged Saline, but it seems to have done the job just as well," he replied as he circumnavigated his way through the snapping red claws jumping up from the purple ground at the sight of the vehicle, as they passed through the Terrifying Tors of Trepidation.

"Huh?" Danny blinked in further confusion, so had Vlad helped him again…oh boy, he really owed Vlad…like a lot, lot, far more than he could ever repay. "That was you…again?"

"Mmm," Vlad nodded slightly and resisted the urge to laugh at the child's cluelessness; sometimes he had no doubt that Daniel was indeed Jack's 'unfortunate' son, but occasionally he was proud to see that he had inherited Maddie's intelligence…clearly now was not one of those times. "Who else would it have been?" he whispered.

"I dunno…a doctor?" Danny shrugged and pulled the top of the blade free of its scabbard to gaze at the shining gold and silver edge instead of Vlad.

"I'm afraid I meant what I told you about hospitals, Daniel," he replied emotionlessly.

Unfortunately Danny was forced to agree with Vlad on that point as he had avoided hospitals in fear of discovery for the last few years, and on rare occasion when he was sick it was never bad enough to warrant a doctor's help. It was the horror of being found out and then being used as some kind of lab-rat or experiment to be dissected and studied for the rest of his life, which had fuelled this fear. "I know," he muttered and pushed away the images of lab coated torturers and sharp needles awaiting him.

As if to snap himself from his nightmare Danny abruptly slid the blade back into the scabbard with a loud 'click' and placed it on the floor beside him, he had had enough of these nightmares while he was asleep, he didn't want them while he was awake too. "Hey it's Sunday right, I err…I don't suppose all this'll be over by tonight will it?" Danny suddenly asked and Vlad smiled ruefully.

"I highly doubt it, although I should commend you for your positive attitude," Vlad chuckled.

"Wasn't being positive, fruit loop, I was **hoping** that this stupid crap wasn't as bad as I thought. Then I could go to Paulina's party, and play basketball on Wednesday…or enjoy my vacation at home like nothing ever happened." Danny muttered wistfully, not really aware that he was telling his childish hopes to Vlad, at that point he was just a person to talk to.

"Sadly, I think you have more important things to worry about now than your vacation, or your next childish party," Vlad scoffed.

"Hey, I was half invited y'know…half an invitation's the most I'll ever get to one of those parties!" Danny replied defensively…although it probably wasn't the best defence.

Vlad smiled maliciously at the notable difference he suddenly saw between their childhoods. When he had been Daniel's age he had been invited to every party under the sun; every birthday party, every loud concert, club or just parties for no real reason at all…other than getting so (illegally) drunk that you didn't know your left from your right anymore. Then they'd all have to sneak back into boarding school and pretend that they were hunky-dory, A-Okay and all that. In retrospect it hadn't been an ideal childhood, but at the time it had been fun.

Vlad had borne the bruises from the heated late night fights in back gardens or from his father's 'punishments' for a long time, it was only when he grew up that he realised that people had been after his…or his father's money, not his 'friendship' at all. And he used to care about that, but things had changed; he was not a child anymore and parties only served as a way to prove his influence in the business world…with money…so nothing had changed.

He supposed that a small part of him was jealous of Daniel's childhood. Despite his ghost powers it was a happy way to grow up; not having to worry about impressing the 'master of the house' for attention or rewards or having to avoid him in his bad moods. Danny had parents who, however clueless, loved him and cared for him notwithstanding the unmissable fact of his appalling grades or deteriorating school attendance. Vlad knew that Jack and Maddie would always love their son, and it was not something he had ever really experienced. Vlad remembered that his mother had cared for him…to some extent, but his father…

Vlad pulled himself from that line of thought; it was not a happy one, nor was it one that he wanted to continue so he gazed round at the Ghost Zone. As he expected he had not seen a single Ghost or even a rogue Spectral or two, which was not right…it seemed that things were heating up rather quickly. Maybe they were all in hiding, Spectrals tended to avoid conflict as they were weaker than most other inhabitants in the Zone, but to not come across **one **was quite worrying. There were thousands of them…so where were they? On Holiday?

"How do you know where we're going anyway?" Danny asked curiously and jumped forwards to drape his arms over the back of the front seats. "You're not just making this up right…cuz if you are I'm gonna…"

"I told you I have a map," Vlad held up the mirror for Danny to see, he had been wondering how long it would take before the boy's curiosity overcame his pride. And now that the tense atmosphere had been broken it hadn't taken long.

"A mirror?" Danny smiled and looked at Vlad like he had just announced he was moving to Mars. "Am I missing something?"

"That is usually the case with you, but in this instance yes you are, it is a map that is designed to lead you to the so-called 'Dark Zone.' I acquired it earlier today and I wasn't planning on going anywhere without it; always plan ahead, Daniel you might find it helps far more than your fists-first-questions-later philosophy." Vlad grinned and put the mirror back on the console where he would be able to see any changes.

Danny frowned at Vlad's little dig at his intelligence, but since he was supposed to be acting grateful to the man he would let that one slide…for now. "Does this 'magic mirror' tell you how close we are?" he asked, his eyes flashing green with repressed frustration.

"No," Vlad replied brusquely.

"Oh…" he sighed and once more they lapsed into uncomfortable silence. Maybe they needed to shout and fight each other because right now it seemed that they had little else to talk about. Trying to get along with Vlad Masters it seemed was harder than he thought.

Danny turned his attention to the empty Zone outside, he ignored the strange instinct that was once more telling him to run and hide, "Why is it so empty?" he had not meant to voice his questions aloud, but he doubted he would get an answer.

"I'm not really sure; they could be hiding…or like I told you originally, they could be trapped somewhere," Vlad responded.

Danny's eyes widened in surprise after Vlad had actually answered him, but he could understand it if everyone was hiding, he felt scared by just looking at the Ghost Zone. He didn't know how Vlad had sat there and stared at it for so long, but having to live here as it was now would definitely drive him mad. It just wasn't the same place. All other thoughts were pushed away and he found himself unable to look away from the swirling green mist, it had always had a hypnotic effect, but now it sent his whole body on alert, he was in danger!

Once more that feeling of fight or flight battled in his mind; he was wounded…no condition to fight…he needed to run, he needed to fly away before it was too late. Those thoughts thundered in his mind and he forced himself to morph into his ghost half ready to fly back home. It didn't matter that he didn't know the way back or how deeply into the Zone they had travelled; Danny needed to fly back to safety. It was the same feeling when he had started at that **monster** that had attacked him, it didn't deserve any other name; it was merely a monster.

But he couldn't just run! If he went back to Amity Park he would be putting others in danger and he would be giving up the hope that he and Vlad had of stopping it. Vlad would help him…wouldn't he? Danny wrapped his arms tightly around himself and fought against the cold shivers that threatened to overtake him with irrational fear.

Vlad had noticed the flash of light and watched curiously with a furrowed brow as the younger hybrid finally tore his glowing eyes away from the window, he hadn't expected this kind of reaction; they had been deep in the Ghost Zone for over an hour. If Daniel was going to act up like this it should have happened as soon as they had entered, but perhaps the boy's attention had been pre-occupied by what Vlad easily saw as his little inner conflict about why he was still alive.

When Vlad had first been attacked he had felt the same fear that literally was rolling off the trembling child in tangible waves, and he had felt it when he had seen the change in the Ghost Zone, it had happened several weeks ago and it was here now. But he was able to control his fears, he had been taught even as a young boy…younger than Daniel…that 'mind over matter' was a superior mentality that would help a person achieve success. So even as the primate part of his mind was telling him to run and hide, his intellect was enabling him to control it and continue on his journey.

But clearly it was not as simple for Daniel as it was for him.

So he stopped the vehicle and moved over to the petrified ghost boy who was now quivering in the corner of the Speeder. He was sitting with his knees tucked up to his chest and his arms wrapped round himself as if for protection…it was too deplorable. In any other situation Vlad would have probably made a snide remark or at least tried to taunt his young 'rival,' but since he had felt this same fear not long ago he decided it would be best to try and help.

He knelt beside Danny and lifted his right hand to rest on the boy's jump-suit covered shoulder. As his bare hand made contact with Danny he felt himself shudder and ignored the voice that loudly insisted he walk away and leave the boy alone. "Daniel," he said confidently, and tilted his head slightly to try and gage the child's hidden expression.

But Danny failed to respond, he didn't look up to even acknowledge the sound of Vlad's voice or the hand on his shoulder…it wasn't important. He had managed to control the cold shivers and kept his eyes tightly shut and his forehead resting on the top of his knees to shut out the world and its monsters.

Vlad began to grow worried with the lack of response, so he shook Danny's shoulder and gently lifted the boy's face to look at his eyes. But Danny's glowing eyes were clamped shut and he clearly didn't want to open them, "Daniel," he repeated, "open your eyes," Danny only shook his head at the authoritative voice, but at least he had gotten a reaction from the boy. He moved slightly so that he was blocking any view towards the green atmosphere that Danny might have and sighed as he looked down at the frightened child. He wasn't used to dealing with frightened children…it wasn't his forte.

"How can you look at it…when it's like…that?" Danny muttered and slowly began to open his eyes. It was strange but he felt much safer once he saw Vlad in front of him and **not **the swirling vortexes of fear and death.

"Practice," Vlad replied with surprising gentility but Danny just stared catatonically back at him. "Just try to ignore it…"

"I did…I can't, it doesn't work!" Danny suddenly became animated and loud, "How can I ignore it when it just makes me want to run away?"

Vlad wasn't sure how to answer, he had had some time to get used to this new atmosphere and he had ways of coping, but Daniel didn't, perhaps he was just overwhelmed by the disturbing feelings that the Ghost Zone now induced. It had gotten increasingly worse since his last visit, and Vlad wasn't very keen on it either. He inhaled deeply while he pondered the boy's question and abruptly took his hand off Danny's shoulder.

"I…" Vlad began but hastily stopped when he felt a familiar sensation overtake him and he quickly moved back to look out of the large window. He was now on full alert and his muscles were tense as his now red eyes surveyed the area but he couldn't see anything to warrant this sudden vigilance.

Danny had looked up as well but he couldn't bring himself to stand by the window, it was too soon, "What is it?" he asked quietly as he gazed at Vlad's straight back and leaned forwards to sat on his knees.

Something was wrong, Danny had felt that strange sense of hot and cold at the same time; he felt warm because his heart was beating a mile a minute and he felt cold because he was shaking with fear. It was not a good combination. "…Vlad…what's going on?" he whispered but Vlad didn't answer. Vlad was too preoccupied with the task at hand, which was; find whatever was setting him on edge like this and get rid of it before it could hurt him or Daniel.

But as he stared intently into the spiralling atmosphere Vlad was sure that he saw something move so he took the shield device out of his pocket and pressed the button, at once a green and blue circular shield covered the stationary _Spectre_ _Speeder_. "Stay here," he told Daniel, then tossed the device onto the dashboard and left the vehicle as Plasmius.

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><p>Perhaps leaving Daniel alone in the vehicle had not been the best idea but Vlad believed that his Little Badger was safe from anything that would attack them; he had spared no expense and had lost a lot of sleep on his inventions. With a last glance at the shield he flew down to the shadowed area where he suspected something nasty was waiting for him. With no defence against the vey air around him Vlad felt strangely vulnerable but he soon reached the floating rocks beneath him.<p>

He carefully looked around with strained muscles and clenched fists which were now glowing with ectoplasm, ready to be fired at whatever moved next whether it was an immediate threat or not. Vlad couldn't remember the last time he had felt this stressed and he hated feeling this weak…it meant he couldn't control his situation and that meant that things were unpredictable. And that was a dangerous, unacceptable combination!

Silently he cloned himself and now the two Vlad's watched each other's backs and with parallel glowing hands they surveyed their designated areas. He hadn't expected the Calidae to find them this quickly, Vlad was slightly disappointed with himself; he clearly hadn't planned for every outcome and now he was in danger.

But he was surprised when his ghost sense warned him that there was a ghost approaching not a spirit; he kept his hands raised with energy just in case. The view he was receiving from the eyes of his clone saw the edge of billowing piece of dark fabric from behind a towering culmination of conventional looking rocks. "Found you," Vlad smirked as both he and his clone fired simultaneously at the figure.

The boulders exploded loudly but as the dust cleared Vlad couldn't see any sign that there had been anyone…or anything there at all. He slowly approached the destruction he had just created and his eyes quickly took in the surroundings once more. Had he merely been seeing things? It was unlike him to let his imagination run away with him like this, he had been so sure that he had seen something. There must be something there; his ghost sense was never wrong…no it was not his imagination.

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><p>Danny shifted in his seat; he was still avoiding looking out of the windows which was no easy task. That persuasive, primitive little voice that told you to run, jump or in this case – to look, would not go away and it was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. And he just wasn't happy with the fact that there was possibly something dangerous outside and he was just sitting in the <em>Spectre Speeder<em> like a lost little puppy or a coward.

He couldn't just let Vlad do everything himself; Vlad had saved his life, Vlad had patched him up, Vlad had found out what their attacker was and had come up with a plan to stop it, and Vlad was out there now…not him. It seemed that all **he** had done was cause more trouble for the older hybrid…was he really **that **useless?

With a deep breath he gathered his courage and looked directly out of the window, he tried to ignore the sensation that was telling him to run and began looking for Vlad. He found the man and a clone walking on a large rock that was cracked and broken, Plasmius had a determined look on his pale blue face and his cloak was billowing behind him. Where was the danger? What had happened that had made them both so alert and nervous like this?

It all happened so quickly that Danny barely had time to glance repeatedly around for this invisible danger when he was unexpectedly thrown violently across the confined space of the _Spectre Speeder_. The vehicle quaked and shook violently and he yelled in surprise as he looked up to see something staring back at him from outside the glass. Two horribly familiar coal black eyes in the face of an enormous black bird held his startled gaze. Its wings flapped silently as it hovered in front of the vehicle and its whole body seemed to burn with dark flames.

The bird began to hammer at the shield and the force caused the _Spectre Speeder_ to shake once more but it gave a frustrated screech as the shimmering blue and green shield showed no signs of weakening. Danny sighed in relief as it abruptly stopped its assault and turned from him with one last look of deepest loathing. He knew he should be out there fighting it not cowering in a corner…Danny felt his hands curl into fists and his green eyes burned in anger at the enemy, and at his own cowardice.

Now, as he stood quickly on his feet and with his face palms pressed against the glass he saw Vlad looking around upon hearing the birds yell of anger, and he watched as the bird disappeared instantly. That was not good. Turning himself intangible he flew out of the confines of the vehicle and of the barrier just as Vlad was turning to meet his gaze.

Vlad's red eyes widened in horror as Danny looked down at him, "What the hell are you doing?" The man screamed, "Get back in the…AHHH…" Vlad yelled in shock as both he and his clone were struck by black flames from the fiery avian that had now materialised behind him. Vlad cursed his own stupidity, he had been too preoccupied with worrying for Daniel instead of paying attention to his ghost sense that was now screaming 'DANGER' at him!

Now however it seemed that the bird's eyes were fixed on the boy and not him at all. He stared in fearful curiosity as he was completely ignored by the strange ghost bird; it was not one that he had ever seen before. Instead of glowing green feathers this one was literally burning with black fire and its huge wings created vacuums of spiralling air, it created its own type of terrifying beauty that Vlad couldn't help but marvel at.

His admiration was cut short as the bird stretched its wings and took off towards Daniel, "Daniel, move!" he shouted but it seemed the boy didn't hear him.

Danny was frozen to the spot, he **saw** the bird coming towards him, but it didn't register in his mind that he should move, fight, anything other than just stand still. His mind was repeatedly screaming only one word; FIGHT! After all of his ghost fights Danny's well-trained instinct to live was louder and far more practiced than most people's, so he quickly shook himself out of his trance and fired at the oncoming enemy. His powerful ecto-blast hit its target and the bird was thrown off course with a loud cry of anger.

Now he had just pissed it off…not good. He flew speedily around the creature and began letting loose dozens of small but powerful discs at it as he continued to circle it. Danny had forgotten all about Vlad and was completely absorbed by the important task at hand; get rid of the enemy.

Vlad cursed as he watched Danny continue to circle the creature, it left him no opening for his own attack. It was too risky for him to attack using any kind of power; he had excellent aim but it looked as though the younger hybrid was flying at least over 200mph…the risk was too great, the stupid child was trying to fight by himself! What was he supposed to do now?

He had not wanted Daniel to fight anything yet, Vlad still didn't know if it would affect his wound; it really did look like the boy had no use for self-preservation after all. So he would need to act fast, the longer he let Daniel fight the worse off he could make himself. He and his clone invisibly flew up to the ensuing fight and formed a small barrier to stop the flying ghost boy.

The moment he saw Daniel come to an abrupt halt as he slammed into the purple energy Vlad took advantage of it and pushed the boy aside out of harm's way. He fired a purple electrical blast at the somewhat disoriented bird, it was by far more powerful than any of Daniel's attacks and it had a greater impact. It had scorched the bird's wings and the black fire had momentarily dimmed, this served to encourage Vlad and he gave Daniel no opportunity to try and mess the situation up.

Vlad forced the ectoplasm to completely encase the boy and Danny was soon hovering indignantly within a purple sphere. Vlad was now free to continue attacking the bird and he absorbed his clone then attacked with increasingly strong electrical bolts. His power was met with a dark attack from the bird's beak and the two collided with cataclysmic consequences. Glowing sparks of purple and black were spewed out from the growing power-struggle and the powerful recoil was pushing them both back.

The heat from his own power began to grow and grow and very quickly Vlad found his whole body crackling with electricity. He couldn't remember the last time he had used this power so much and in such a short space of time. Maybe he really was more on edge than he thought. As the electricity continued to roll of him in waves it hurtled directly towards the bird which had little time to retaliate.

It was soon clear that Vlad was stronger and the accumulating blast sent the bird screaming in agony as it finally lost its ability to keep up its flight. But that didn't stop Vlad Plasmius, he let the feeling of increasing power overtake him and he took advantage of his enemy's weakness by giving him hell.

The dark avian fell further and was sent careering down towards into the atmosphere and Vlad decided, against his better judgement, to leave it be. After all if it was a servant or a worker of the Calidae there could be more of them…it could be trying to lead them into a worse trap than this one. It wasn't worth risking his life for merely to destroy an annoying bird, he would wait…no doubt he would see it again. And then he would show it why **no one**, ghost, spirit or otherwise, messed with Vlad Plasmius.

Vlad felt Daniel's attacks hit his barrier and sighed in irritation, it was clear that it would take a long time for the boy to break free of this one; he had made sure of it. But if he hadn't been so reckless Vlad could have taken care of it by himself…why was the boy so against thinking things through? Really it was a miracle that Daniel was still alive…half alive.

"Let me out! Plasmius!" he heard said boy shout and turned his attention back towards his still strong barrier.

"Why?" Vlad replied in anger as he flew up towards the trapped ghost boy, "I told you to stay put! Don't you ever listen?"

Danny pretended to ignore Vlad; he crossed his arms and glared at the space beside Vlad rather than at the man himself. He didn't want to give Vlad the satisfaction that he knew he was in the wrong. Danny knew he should have just stayed in the _Spectre Speeder_, he knew Vlad was stronger than he would ever be, and that Vlad could have dealt with that stupid bird with one hand tied behind his back. He had just been so irritated that he felt so powerless…

"Are you even listening to me?" Vlad asked, his red eyes burning holes in Danny's face. Vlad was seriously pissed off, all he had done was tell Daniel to stay in the _Speeder, _was it so hard for a teenager to understand that? He hadn't wanted the boy to get himself hurt any more than he already had…how could Daniel not see that?

"We got it though, didn't we?" Danny muttered still not meeting Vlad's furious gaze.

"No, **I** 'got it,' **you **could have gotten yourself in a world of trouble!" Vlad retaliated angrily.

"Only 'cuz you got in my way, I was doing fine by myself and if you hadn't…" Danny screamed and tried to break Vlad's barrier again but with no success. This stupid thing was serious annoying him now!

"You are still wounded, and we don't yet know the extent of the damage, are you really stupid enough to risk your own life because you can't sit still for five minutes?" Vlad sighed and narrowed his eyes as the stubborn child before him.

Danny echoed Vlad's sigh, then it struck him once more that Vlad really** did** care if he got hurt…he just didn't understand why. Vlad had hurt him before a lot of times, both emotionally and physically...and boy Vlad's attacks really did hurt!

He couldn't help but be disheartened at the sudden turn in emotions their relationship had taken…only a few minutes ago he had been grateful to Vlad for saving his life. Now Vlad had possibly saved his life again and he was being a jerk **again**. But it wasn't all his fault! He couldn't stand sitting and doing nothing, Danny needed to take action, he supposed in that way he and Vlad were very similar.

Vlad was not the type to sit idly by, nor was he lazy…and as much as it pained Danny to admit it he knew that Vlad was not afraid of hard work. He was not a lazy billionaire although he had every excuse to be. Vlad had money, fame…everything he could ever want and yet he still wasn't happy. And it shocked him again that Vlad actually cared about him.

Why should Vlad care anything for him at all? Danny wondered sometimes if their situation was reversed…if he had been the one alone with ghost powers for 20 years, who was in love with someone who didn't return that love…he could understand why Vlad hated his dad so much. But that didn't mean he was okay with it. They had been good friends at one point and it was sad that that friendship had soured into to nothing but hate for Vlad.

More so than a few years ago Danny could...maybe not emphasise, but he could understand the reasons for Vlad's behaviour, Danny had grown up quickly…he supposed it was because of all the responsibilities he had had to get used to. But he too would feel lonely, miserable and depressed if the woman he loved turned away from him and loved another especially if that person was his only friend. Danny felt bad about all of the times he had made fun of Vlad for his love for his mom…but he wouldn't admit this to Vlad, he couldn't. Vlad wouldn't want his sympathy…neither would he.

But Vlad needed to know that him mom was happy with his dad, Danny knew a happy marriage when he saw one…maybe then Vlad could move on with his life and learn that he didn't need to act like such a jerk to get what he wanted all the time. Shouting at Vlad wouldn't get him anywhere so he swallowed his anger and pride and finally decided to meet the man's gaze head on, he stopped attacking the barrier and merely said; "Okay, I get it…I know...will you let me out now…please…"

Vlad stared bewildered at Danny, like he had grown another head or turned into the Box Ghost in the blink of an eye. This he had not expected in a million years! Daniel had listened to him…and he had said **'please.'** During the boy's little silence he had been imagining more shouting would follow soon enough, but not this…maybe the boy had begun to grow up...or he was plotting something...Vlad hoped...he doubted that that wasn't the case, Daniel was not the best strategist in the Ghost Zone.

Granted, Vlad had still been paying close attention to the Fenton's and most particularly the youngest child, but he had evidently not been observant enough to notice this kind of change. **(*2)** In shock he released his hold on the ectoplasm and Danny just glanced back at him with grateful eyes and a sad smile tugging at his lips. "So…err…what d'you think it was…its eyes…they were like…" Danny stopped and watched as Vlad continued to regard him with an unreadable expression on his pale face. "What?" he exclaimed and this seemed sufficient enough to snap Vlad out of his daze.

"I…err…well it's not a very wild stretch of the imagination to suggest that it was…perhaps a servant…of our new friend." Vlad crossed his arms and began stroking his goatee, "Which means that it will soon know we have not, in fact gone to the Rockies, and it's not as stupid as I'd hoped…which **means** we don't have much time…come on…" Vlad flew back towards the motionless Spectre Speeder and Danny followed silently behind him.

This was going to be a long trip.

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><p>Sam and Tucker walked swiftly though the back streets of Amity Park, after going on months and months of late night ghost patrols they had learnt the streets like the palm of their hands. Danny, of course knew them even better than they did and he had a whole map of the city in his head…but Danny was not here now so they had to rely on their own knowledge and the few weapons they had.<p>

After Sam had arrived at Tucker's, bright and early as she had said, the two of them had gone through what little plan they had and began taking stock of their small anti-ghost arsenal. Once more Tucker had tried the Fenton cameras but having no luck they decided to go with their risky plan.

Now at around midday they navigated the alleyways and dark corners to avoid attention. They were armed with _Wrist Rays, _and _Fenton Phones_ in case they were somehow separated; Tucker carried a battered looking _Fenton Foamer_ that Sam had brought while she had a _Fenton Thermos_ and a _Jack o' Nine Tails…_it seemed that Sam had kept more weapons under her bed than Tucker did in his closet. Some girls were just violent…or more prepared. He had fixed the _Spector Deflector_ and had let Sam have it, after all if Sam got hurt Danny would kill him, despite the fact that Sam was more likely to protect him from danger then vice versa…it was just the way the dude-code worked.

And Danny was his best friend…but he was really, really clueless sometimes.

As they neared _Fenton Works_ they stopped directly opposite and surveyed the possible danger zone. "It looks normal now," Tucker whispered incredulously. After last night he had expected more creepy shadows and scary monsters…this was getting weird.

"Maybe," Sam muttered sceptically and moved towards the house with Tucker creeping slowly behind her.

"How're we getting' in?" he murmured.

"Round the back, come on, Tuck," Sam replied and they scurried over the fence with their cumbersome weapons. With her friend watching her back Sam began messing with the locks on the back door.

"Y'know I really don't think Danny'll be too impressed that we broke into his house, man" Tucker frowned as he continued to look round the empty garden.

"Danny's not here, he doesn't get an opinion," Sam grinned as the lock 'clicked' and the door creaked open she turned to him with a look of triumph and then peered into the unexpectedly dark room.

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><p>A.N. Voilà, another long chapter, I surprised myself with my commitment to this story and the length of the updates!<p>

Now, as I was saying…firstly it was important that Danny actually expressed gratitude towards Vlad, his conscience would demand it; I hinted at this in the last chapter, but it worked out better to elaborate that feeling in this one. It helps them form a bond of trust, I suppose, rather than a mutual certainty that they be knocking ten-bells out of each other when they next meet.

I also think I stressed the importance of Vlad's research into the Ancients enough to explain why he has the 'convenient' artefacts, and the change in the Ghost Zone…it's a shit -scary place now for a shit-scary monster! Ain't I cruel?

Oh and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to come up with a few of the place names in the Zone, some were from the show and some were mine, but there will be more to come! It was just too much alliterated fun to miss!

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><p><strong>(*1)<strong>_Speculi-Charta _literally translates as Mirror Map, clever huh? It had to have a Latin name since it was an Ancient artefact.

**(*2)** It think I showed that Danny has matured a little bit since he is almost 16 and with all his responsibilities he would mature quicker than most people I think. He can't go on acting like a jerk forever to Vlad and I think he would now at least understand Vlad's motives, he wouldn't carry on making fun of them forever. After all when we grow up and realise the effect these things have on others we tend not to act like childish jerks to people in these situations. It's sad! Also with the full on ghost fights and the fear he experienced in this chapter I don't think that he is out-of-character like this, but do you?


	13. The Past is Present

A.N. Lately I seem to have been suffering from idleitis (that means I'm a lazy ass if you didn't know) but I am on my week off from College so I have an excuse to be lazy, and it has taken me longer than usual to get this written down. Unfortunately it's not just the writing one has to think as well and in that respect I'm even lazier. And once again I have been having annoying technical difficulties with the site…but enough excuses, that ain't why you're here.

Only 2 reviews for my last chapter…it's a good thing I don't hold these things to ransom…but I'm a big girl now, I can handle it! So thanks again to those of you who DO review and read my work…you guys are the best! And now here it is; the next chapter of my _magnum opus!_

Disclaimer: Me is no owning Danny Phantom no matter how much me is wishing it was mine ; )

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><p><strong>What Unusual halflives we lead<strong>

Chapter 13: The Past is Present

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><p>Sam and Tucker lowered their weapons as they peered into the chaos that had once been the Fenton household. They had been expecting some kind of rabid monster to come jumping out at them from the building but the disarray that they found was more than enough to stun the two teenage ghost hunters into complete and utter silence.<p>

Sam took the first tentative steps into the room and kept her weapon pointing into the darkness; there were small bursts of light streaming in from the spaces between the closed curtains and the still open back door, but it was enough to survey the devastating sight. It looked just like something out of a horror film…the torn and broken furniture, the clawed at walls and now, the two helpless kids that go into a house and never come out again because they've stupidly gotten themselves killed. Oh, what a cheery thought! **(*1)**

With her heavy combat boots the Goth girl kicked aside chunks of rubble and as they landed across from her with loud 'crashing' sounds that echoed in the proverbial darkness. Tucker jumped and spun his _Fenton Foamer_ around wildly and stuttered in fear. "…C…come out here…I'm…I'm armed and…d…deadly…" the techno-geek stammered.

"Tucker it's just me…now stop playing around," Sam moaned in exasperation and turned back to face her friend. Tucker only sighed quietly in relief and walked beside her as they slowly picked their way through the battered remains. "You think you could hack into that footage from the _Ops-Centre_?" she asked as they made their way through the kitchen and into the sitting room.

"…Yeah…m…maybe…" he replied, and blinked in confusion, "Sam…is that blood?" Tucker pointed over to a pile of rubble and debris coated in red blood and green ectoplasm….they knew of only three people who had blood like that.

"Yeah, looks like it" Sam answered grimly after she had examined the strange substance. She spun around slowly still anticipating an attack as she felt eyes watching them – perhaps it was just an overactive imagination. Whatever it was it didn't take an idiot to see that something really bad had happened here and the thought made Sam shiver with fear and worry. "We gotta get to the _Ops- Centre_," she whispered and they once more began to make their way through the cumbersome mess of the house.

After carefully climbing that stairs to the top floor they were forced to manually ascend the staircase to the _Ops-Centre_ after the innovative shoot had failed them. Everything electrical was down; the lights and the kitchen appliances were all non-operational; "Stupid no-Tech house," Tucker had moaned, but Sam had taken it a little more seriously.

The _Ops-Centre_ was as dark as the rest of the house but fortunately it had an independent power supply which Tucker was able to rewire and fix fairly easily. He now sat in front of the huge screens…which of course had the obligatory _Fenton Logo _on them…as he began typing on the dusty keyboard.

"I think I got it," Tucker exclaimed with surprise, "Guess whatever didn't want me hackin' into it didn't think we'd come here and check it ourselves," he said triumphantly.

In silence they watched the screens; they watched as an unexpected earthquake shook the whole house and the three Fenton's were tossed mercilessly around the rooms. They watched as Jack and Maddie Fenton were quick to recover and the brightly suited adults ran through the house carrying anti-ghost weapons.

As they ran past the screens Sam and Tucker watched as Jazz made the call they had received and then the electricity shorted out, sending the screens into darkness. The footage was cut off and the screens played only irritating grey and black static.

"What happened?" Sam asked anxiously and Tucker turned back to the keyboard.

After a few minutes the screens flickered reluctantly to life again and it looked like each room was empty. Each one had been slashed and destroyed as they had seen it and they watched in horror as Jack, Maddie and Jazz now lay unconscious in the lab with a battered looking human Danny in Vlad Plasmius' arms. In shock and confusion they stared as the fuzzy and unclear footage showed the older hybrid cautiously eying a huge black shadow…and then he, and the Fenton's suddenly disappeared.

That was when the screens blanked out again and Tucker furiously typed once more on the keyboard…but the teens were out of luck. When they were finally working again the footage showed that the house was empty and as damaged as it was when the teenagers had entered it only minutes ago.

"What the HELL was that?" the now angry and confused goth girl screamed as she waved her hands in the air.

"I don't know…it won't show any more…" Tucker sighed and leaned back in the chair. "What was Plasmius doin' here?" he wondered.

"How the hell should I know?" Sam shouted and paced the length of the room; it seemed to be a bad habit she was getting into.

"…Kinda looked like he saved 'em…" Tuck glanced over at his pacing friend, "But how'd he know?"

"He still probably spies on Danny…you know how nuts the guy is," she replied and waved a hand to signify the mootness of the point. "Did you see Danny…he really looked…"

"…Dead?" Tucker suggested, confirming that he had the same fears after seeing the footage. The techno-geek now felt real concern for his best friend…if something was able to reduce Danny **Phantom** to that…a battered, bleeding and torn up Danny **Fenton**…then it was not good news for them…or for Danny.

"We better get outta here…that thing might come back," Sam sighed and looked around; she had no idea what that black shadow had been but she didn't intend to wait around and find out. "We need to find them," she added as the two of them climbed back down after shutting down the power.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Tucker whispered, "Vlad took 'em and…oh…duh!" he face-palmed. "Vlad's?" Tucker confidently smiled.

"Vlad's," Sam repeated with a determined gleam in her eyes.

* * *

><p>"Are we there <strong>now<strong>?" Danny sighed and repeated the much-used question. He was sat in the back of the _Spectre Speeder_ while Vlad sat up front and navigated through the Ghost Zone. Just looking at it still creeped Danny out but he found that concentrating on irritating the hell outta Vlad helped take his mind of things. Maybe Vlad understood this…maybe he didn't but either way he had stopped answering Danny's questions a long time ago.

Vlad had advised Danny to sit in the back and to stare at the Zone as little as possible…and he was surprised once more when the boy listened to him. Perhaps this whole thing had affected Danny more than he had first thought. He knew that physically it had done the young hybrid some damage…but Vlad was unsure of Danny's emotions, it was never a subject he had ever understood with much certainty.

The first thing he had done after the fight with the strange bird and Danny's sudden ability to listen to him, was to check the boys wound. Vlad had, to Danny's discomfort and disappointment felt compelled to give a small jolt to the ugly black crystallite after he noticed the boys failed efforts to hide his fatigue. Vlad of course had been able to conceal his concern far more successfully…his father had always said he should have been an actor. If nothing else Vlad knew he could lie and cheat his way out of anything…it was something that many people would be ashamed of, but not him. And he was astonished to see that Daniel's own 'deceitful abilities' had improved as well, after all he could lie to the whole of Amity Park for years and get away with it with a smile.

And though the people of Amity were not the sharpest tools in the shed, it was a start…it was something he could build on. But was that really what he wanted…to mould Daniel into an obedient little 'minion' to do his bidding?

No…that was no longer what Vlad wanted; when they had first met the thought had done more than cross his mind. It had been his goal for months and had even driven him to attempt to clone Daniel…resulting in months of failed work, effort and wasted money. But now he realised that it had been a stupid idea from the start, he didn't want a carbon copy by his side…he wanted the **real **Daniel to look at him as a father.

But now, after 2 years of being nothing but hated rivals had begun to take a repetitive, monotonous loop that bored him now more than anything else. Oh, the fights with Daniel would never get old, and always the boy managed to surprise him by improving and developing his powers. But the predictability…the certainty that Daniel would constantly try to 'do the right thing,' irked him.

Was this sudden change in attitudes the result of an untimely midlife crisis? Or had he begun to see the pros and cons of his own actions and was not liking the outcome? What had he gotten out of it? He was the successful mayor of a backwater city and in possession of a colossal financial empire that was the envy of any business tycoon, with enough money to convince even the President of the United States to dance naked on the Whitehouse's' steps …but he still did not have Daniel as a son.

Nothing he did worked. But here was an opportunity to change that, a chance to prove to Daniel that he did care for him and that, as the only other hybrid, Vlad was best suited to care for him. Their lives may be on the line, but there was nothing wrong with keeping a plan in mind should they come out on top.

Vlad glanced down at the small mirror which was now showing a dark highland range called the Moaning Mountains; he had been through them before and it was a favourite ghostly retreat of his. It was where he found the mines of curious stones and strong metals which were used in his lab. The strange purple-grey rock gave off echoing sighs and moans and smoke was puffed out of the ground which reminded Vlad of an active volcano he had visited on one of his 'round-the-world' trips he had made when he made his first money. Due to this strange volcanic appearance there were few ghosts that ever passed through the place and he loved the solitude he found there. It was a place to think and a place to learn.

Vlad steered the vehicle in the right direction and saw the ridges of the mountain range begin to emerge in the distance when the silence began to overwhelm him again. He wanted to know what had suddenly prompted Daniel to listen to him; he wanted to know why Daniel had not fought him after trapping him and preventing him from fighting. What was the reason for the boy's sudden compliancy? Vlad had no idea and he sighed quietly as he spared a glance in the rear view mirror at the boy in question.

* * *

><p>Danny stared down at his shoes as the light reflected off the surface and made them practically sparkle with cleanliness; who needed shoes this shiny anyway? Over-educated crazy billionaires with too much time and money on their hands, that's who!<p>

Danny sighed and turned to look at Vlad; the man was still sitting bolt-upright and was focused on the Ghost Zone. The young hybrid couldn't help but admire the man's resiliency; they must have been in here for hours and Vlad had hardly looked away from the creepy atmosphere for more than five seconds.

But it made Danny feel pathetic, he knew Vlad was stronger than him…but this was more proof that he would never be as good as Vlad. It was not an encouraging thought that his 'enemy' had so much more power than him…but at least in this crazy situation they were somehow on the same side…for now.

Danny couldn't do anything to help and he felt like he was just a dead weight to be carried around. He tried to stay out of Vlad's way and not piss him off too much and it appeared that that was all he could do.

He had been too rattled by the recent events; he was tired from months of insomnia and all but constant ghost fights, he was hungry from months of malnourishment, he had gotten his butt kicked by something that scared the living day-lights out of him, and now he was too scared to even look out the window. Granted his tiredness and hunger had been somewhat decreased…mainly thanks to Vlad…it was still strange that Vlad was helping him, but he wasn't going to risk losing the man's help when he so obviously needed it.

Speaking of help…Danny looked in the pockets of his new trousers but then remembered that these expensive looking clothes were not his, and that he did not, in fact have his phone. Straining his tired memory he tried to think where he had last seen it…he had used it at Vlad's…then…he had glanced at it before they left…on the bedside table at Vlad's house but he hadn't been paying attention…woops.

"Hey, can I borrow your phone?" Danny suddenly asked.

"It doesn't get a signal in the Ghost Zone, I'm afraid," Vlad replied, surprised that the boy didn't already know this.

"Oh, right…" Danny sighed; he had been hoping that Vlad would have some super-duper-all-purpose kind of cell phone, but obviously not. Whenever Danny came into the Ghost Zone his friends came too, or he was sneaking in to be alone for a while, so he had never had need of a phone while he was there. Maybe he should have brought some _Fenton Phones_…but that would only work if they were all in the Ghost Zone or if he was close to the portal and if his friends were wearing them on the outside too.

He was definitely going to be in deep, deep, deep shit when Sam and Tucker got a hold of him, and he was worried about his family. Were they alright? How was he supposed to find out if he couldn't even speak to anyone outside of the Zone? This just got better and better!

What was he supposed to do? Danny sighed as the whole situation once more increased his sense of fatigue and made him want to crawl into his bed and sleep for the next few months. But he couldn't, he needed to get to the bottom of this…with Vlad, he couldn't push the man away, he needed his help.

It was hard to reconcile his ideas of Vlad the villain and Vlad the guy who had saved his life, it had all happened so quickly that the whole idea just seemed nuts. If it had happened slowly over time then maybe it would have been easier to process, but as it was it had happened and there was no going back; it didn't seem like an idea Clockwork would be keen on…and Clockwork had disappeared anyway so he couldn't even ask.

Part of him was confused and the other part was curiously happy, it was a strange combination. And he looked up to find Vlad staring back at him, the vehicle had slowed down and the older hybrid's face was unreadable.

Vlad couldn't help but notice the boy's inner dilemma; he had been tossing furtive glances back at the teen but now it was clear that Daniel was confused more than anything else. And if he was going to get anything done he needed the boy to know understand that…if only for now…that he was not in fact 'plotting' anything 'evil.'

"How about a truce, Daniel…a temporary truce?" Vlad suggested if only to appease the boy's warped sense of a hero-villain world. One day, he would show Daniel that the world was not black and white, there was no simple definition of right and wrong; there was obscure grey in-between and it was here, rather than simple 'good or bad' that most people tended to dwell. No-one was ever purely the 'hero' or the 'villain,' every person on the planet had the opportunity to do either good or bad deeds, if you wanted to dub them as such.

There was no doubt in Vlad's mind that to Daniel, he was the 'villain' who was confusing the 'hero' by saving his life and helping him. When in reality he was merely a man trying to survive, it didn't matter that the two of them saw the world and its people differently. The way in which Vlad saw the world had been moulded and dulled by his experiences, he no longer saw the world as a fairy tale or a world where justice was always true; the world was a place where only the fittest survived.

Personally, Vlad felt that he had done more than enough recently to prove to Daniel that this was not one of his 'tricks' and that he was indeed trying to keep the boy alive. But obviously Daniel needed a reason to explain his actions in view of his 'villain' category. "We work well together, Little Badger, when are you going to realise that?" Vlad smiled.

"Probably 'round the same time you realise that my mom isn't gonna leave my dad for you," Danny replied, but he quickly regretted it as he watched Vlad turn around with a disapproving look on his face. He couldn't help it; whenever Vlad started mocking him like that the word-vomit just came out like a survival instinct, and Vlad had done so much to help him lately as well…then he just had to go and act like a jerk **again**…bad Danny! "So…err…a truce, huh?" He said his voice louder than before hoping to cover up his nasty word vomit comment. "…then when all this is over we go back to kickin' each other's butts again?" Danny grinned back half-heartedly.

Vlad couldn't help but smile, "Right," he agreed, despite the temptation to say that it was him, rather than Daniel who did the 'butt kicking,' he needed to prove that he was not lying to the boy and riling him up would not achieve that.

"Good," Danny muttered with a slight nod, "So…what exactly are you planning?" Danny questioned emotionlessly as he leaned against the wall of the vehicle and rested his arms on his knees.

"Planning?" Vlad repeated innocently, hoping that this wouldn't be another one of the boy's habitual questionings of his motives.

"Yeah…y'know…what if these Ghosts or whatever don't wanna tell us anything…or…what if we get attacked again…or…" Danny muttered and looked over at the older hybrid.

Vlad was still surprised when he heard Daniel refer to them as working together, rather than question if he was 'plotting some scheme,' it was an odd change. "First of all, we are looking for the Ancients and they are Spirits not Ghosts, they'll take offense if you confuse the two to their face, I believe." Vlad began.

"What d'you mean you 'believe?'" Danny questioned.

"Let's not go there," Vlad frowned, "But if they fail to co-operate…"

"Oh no, I wanna hear this one, what happens if you call a Spirit a Ghost?" Danny asked eagerly as Vlad turned his back to him, this was clearly not going the way he wanted, but Danny couldn't pass up an opportunity to mess with Vlad.

"Daniel, I really don't think this is…"

"Come on, it can't be that bad," Danny smiled.

"It's not important and it really doesn't matter, but once we find them I'll ask you to refrain from trying to find out. The last thing I need is for you to antagonise a colony of powerful Spirits that we are **both **relying on for valuable information," Vlad scowled down at him and Danny grimaced. Vlad chuckled at the childish look on Danny's face then sped up the _Spectre Speeder_ as they now reached the foot of the mountains.

Out of the corner of his eyes Danny saw a huge greyish rock tower over the green of the atmosphere and he took a chance by turning his gaze towards it. With the swirling green no longer in his line of sight he was able to stand closer to the window and stare out at what he now saw was massive tors of rock with jagged ridges and images of shining diamonds. This wasn't something he had ever seen before…but the Ghost Zone was a whole other world, he'd never seen everything in his world either so there was bound to be things here that were new to him.

"It's called the Moaning Mountains," Vlad smiled as he watched Danny practically press his nose against the glass to get a better look.

Danny had to laugh at that; whoever came up with the strange names for places in the Ghost Zone seriously needed a dose of imagination. Here was a strangely beautiful mountain made of purple and grey rocks, that shone with eerie green light and looked like it had thousands of in-built diamonds on its surface, and what was it called; the Moaning Mountains, huh! He kept his eyes fixed on the mountains as Vlad steered round the jagged tors.

"Why don't you just go through it?" Danny asked as he followed thick puffs of smoke come from the mountain at random intervals with his eyes.

"We can't, it has strong metal ores in its surface…I used the same substance on my Ghost Portals, it's practically indestructible and nothing can pass through it."

"So I couldn't phase through it?" he looked back at Vlad and saw that he was deep in concentration as he swerved through the serrated edges that jumped up from the depths of the mountain.

"No," Vlad answered, "It's a strange combination; I've used it in several experiments, that sword is another one, it's really quite fascinating." Once more he was pleased that Daniel was curious about something that he could provide answers to, it showed that the boy was interested in his experiments and that one day he would be able to act as a tutor to Daniel.

"Then why not go round it?"

"It would take too long; I don't want to risk losing the directions from the mirror if I stray from its path, and I may find something that may help us that I wasn't looking for before now," the older hybrid explained with barely-contained interest.

"And what are you looking for?" the ghost boy asked with genuine interest.

"I'm not sure; I'll know it when I see it," Vlad sighed as though the answer were obvious.

"Not helpful, y'know," Danny frowned at the man.

"I wasn't aware that you were trying to be helpful," Vlad retorted and prompted Daniel into a less-damaging battle-of-wits which he hoped would help to distract the boy from his earlier fears; Vlad really didn't want to have to deal with that again.

"HEY!" Danny shouted, obviously insulted by what he saw as a low-blow from even Vlad, but he was shocked when he saw a strange look on Vlad's face. Was he…smiling? Danny's equally insulting retort was stopped dead in his tracks as he could only conclude that Vlad wanted to swap witty banter instead of ectoplasmic punches.

It was an unusual change, and he wasn't sure what had encouraged this kind of conversation, but it was better than being hit with ectoplasm. "I'm supposed to be helpful, dude; I'm the superhero," he replied, "You're the one who's always messin' things up for people," Danny smirked.

"Ah, touché," Vlad nodded, "however that shouldn't come as a surprise; after all is it my fault that people are slow to suspect that I am the 'villain,' you say I am? I am far more trusted as Mayor than you are as Danny Phantom, you wouldn't begrudge me a little fun in return for everything I do for the city, would you?"

"Duh! Of course I would, you weren't even **voted**, remember?" Danny shouted, still outraged that Vlad had been able to overshadow the whole town and made them vote for him! He would have needed…a load of clones to do that! Stupid Vlad and his stupid powers!

"I'm afraid on that one it's your word against mine, Little Badger," Vlad smirked, he was still proud of his achievements no matter how low he had to stoop for them. But he had to admit being the mayor wasn't the best thing he could have done, it had only been to spite the boy beside him and win their little 'prank' battle; it meant very little to him now. It was too much work with very little reward at the end, and that was not a job description that he had ever been fond of. With little over a year left in office he could soon pack up and leave; then he would be able to get back to crushing other business tycoons and expanding his already substantial empire.

Danny grumbled at Vlad's snappy retort and once more internally face-palmed that it had been his stupid jokes that had encouraged the man to be Mayor in the first place. The jokes **had **been funny, but Vlad being the Mayor really gave the guy some serious advantages in Amity Park that Danny didn't even want to think about.

His slightly jovial mood was shattered instantly when his thoughts were instantly turned to his family, who had been hospitalised because of him. It didn't matter what the circumstances were or even if he didn't yet know what they were; something had been after him and had gotten to his family first and no matter what it was, in his mind, it was still his fault. "Why d'you think it went after them and not me?" Danny asked, of course he didn't need to specify who to Vlad.

"I really don't know why it went after your family, Daniel but in all honesty I am more worried for us since it seems to have taken quite a liking to both of us," Vlad said rather harshly and effectively his tone put an end to the former good-humoured conversation, but he became increasingly irritated and confused by Daniel's lack of self-preservation when it came to things like this.

Vlad couldn't help but be reminded of his own encounter with the beast that had attacked the Fenton's, and he had been nothing less than completely stunned to find them **alive**.He hadn't held out much hope when he first left his mansion, but Daniel was stronger than them with his ghost powers and it was for him, rather than the older Fenton's that he had gone for. Even his darling Maddie he had expected to find dead despite her talents and intelligence she was no match for the monster that had almost cost him his life. Him…Vlad Masters!

He considered himself both powerful and intelligent but against the sheer force of this Calidae it had all counted for nothing. In those few, short minutes he had been reduced to a pitiful wreck, reliant on the efforts of his weak ghostly staff. How they had managed to be of any assistance at all was beyond him…the whole thing was completely ludicrous! He couldn't deny, it had left him shaken and vulnerable…but more unbelievable it had made him afraid.

Danny stared curiously at Vlad, he hadn't thought much about it before now but seeing, what looked like actual fear on the older hybrids face, made him think twice about everything he had ever thought to be true about Vlad. He had never seen Plasmius afraid before…ever…not once.

Sure, Danny guessed that Vlad would have been worried when his ecto-acne returned a while ago; but the man had been too busy manipulating his way to a cure that Danny hadn't spared much thought for sympathy. And when Vlad brought Pariah Dark to Amity Park, Danny supposed that Vlad would have been even a tiny bit worried that the Ghost King would force them all into slavery or something, but once more it had been something that Vlad had brought on himself. So Danny hadn't given much thought to Vlad's wellbeing then either; he had been too busy trying to keep himself and his friends alive and out of the Ghost Kings way than worry about Vlad.

But he had always thought that Vlad could look after himself, ever since Danny had met Vlad he had always been alone and had never had anyone's help. And he had to respect the man's independence and success…but he wouldn't want it; Danny figured he would be lonely in Vlad's position. Maybe that was the reason for his continued success, Vlad had nothing else to do, and he had no one else to rely on so he threw himself into his work. It would certainly explain why Danny did so badly in **his** work; he had so many people he was trying to look out for that he had little time to focus on his school work, and his actual jobs that he lost them with record speed.

He wondered what it would take to make Vlad afraid; how much scary shit would need to happen to make Vlad Plasmius quake in his overpriced, over-polished boots? It had Danny scared, make no mistake, but he had always assumed that the things that scared him would never scare Vlad.

And the fact that it did had him scared-shitless.

* * *

><p>In a deep, dark corner of the Ghost Zone laid a huge floating island with towering spires and shining buildings of quiet power and silent majesty. Complicated silver structures of every shape, size and hue soared into the air where thousands of shining white and yellow stars culminated and eventually faded into nothingness in the green atmosphere. <strong>(*2)<strong>

The impressive clustered buildings created what was called the 'Municium' **(*3)**and theyreflected the light, casting enormous shadows on the ground below where dozens arched bridges of age-old stone and shining metallic edifices created a captivating contrast. Banners and flags of purple and gold portrayed a repeated image of an intricate skull and spiralling lines and patterns; the word; '_Veteres_' appeared constantly in silver or gold letters.

Thousands of imperial-amethyst cloaked figures moved in the shadows of these structures, each one was cloaked in purple and their glowing skeletal hands hung lifelessly from the flowing sleeves. They gathered in an artificial court-yard and hovered at the base of an imperialistic building with towering Romanesque columns that shone with muted power.

Twelve of these figures stood apart from the rest; their cloaks were tipped with elaborate gold and black in looping patterns, and they each carried a long staff with a golden sphere at the top that resembled the glowing stars in the sky. They floated at the top of the imperial structure and overlooked the crowd of Spirits below; their faces, like the others, were hidden by the thick cowls of their cloaks but their narrow red eyes shone out through the darkness.

The twelve Decuriones stood proud and tall casting long shadows on the gathering figures below. "We have little time to waste, my brothers," one of the Decuriones said with a deep masculine voice, "The hybrids search for us and time passes," the figure on the far left overlooked the island in a pensive manner.

"Our concern is not the hybrids, Desponius," another replied; this one had a composed higher pitched voice, "Calidae is loose and he is our responsibility."

"He has served his sentence; it should no longer be our duty to intervene," a third voice added with a hint of annoyance in its low, rough voice.

"Simacus speaks the truth. It was agreed; 10,000 years has been given, all is now as it should be," added a fourth with a voice of aloofness and coldness.

"What moral beings you are," Desponius replied with a low snigger, "Calidae is one of us…"

"Calidae **was** one of us," Simacus interrupted, "He is no longer our burden," the Spirit added.

"And the hybrids?" a new quiet voice questioned with an unthreatening tone as the others lapsed into silence.

"_Quid esse erit_," **(*4)** Saturnalicus smiled cruelly beneath his hood.

"And if they should discover us…what then?" Desponius enquired and turned his head slowly towards his fellow Spirit.

"_Quid esse erit_," he repeated, "But one wonders how the hybrids came to be in possession of the _Scientia Collectivu _or the_ Speculi-Charta_,such an answer I am sure, would be of mutual benefit to us all, Desponius," Saturnalicus dangerously replied.

"Indeed, it would, Saturnalicus, if any such here possess that knowledge it should be shared among brothers," came the superior reply and all was then silent, "We have little time…" he repeated again with a sigh while watching the gathering crowd of cloaked Spirits below.

* * *

><p>A.N. Ça y est; another chapter that I really like! Ah, what the hell of course I like them; I wrote 'em and if I hate it then that's bad news pour moi and pour vous! The main story is of course, still Vlad and Danny, but I think it's important for tension if nothing else; to know what is happening with Sam and Tuck and with the Ancients.<p>

And I have given more of Vlad's insight into what kind of a future he wants for him and his 'son,' as I think this would come into question by Danny's recent actions and their situation. Once Vlad starts to realise that he and Danny can actually get along if they want to I think they could have a better relationship.

Now, I know I've said this before, but **now** I really mean it; I fully intend to do a long, detailed flashback of Vlad fighting the Calidae. It never seemed the right time to do it before now, but now I think now I can get away with it, we need to see what is making V-man act this way and I will get right on it, à la hâte!

* * *

><p><strong>(*1)<strong>I didn't really want to explain how messed up the house is again, 'cuz now we've read it from Danny's POV which was the most important I think, then Vlad's and it would just get repetitive if I explained it again. IT'S A MESS, DEAL WITH IT! LOL

**(*2)**I had real fun when I was writing this, like with Clockwork's 'Intemporel Face', the 'Dark-Zone' was an interesting challenge. I wanted to give the impression of both age and new; it is old because the Ancients are by definition 'old' and yet it needed to be new because they are kind of timeless. So now we see the home of the Decuriones (Latin for _Senators_) that I mentioned at the start of Chapter 11 (Sceptical Decisions and Foresight) didn't think I'd leave you hanging did ya?

I thought it was ironic that I call them Senators - which came from the Latin word _senex _for 'old men' so it litaerlly translates as the brotherhood of old men - since the Ancients are skeletons in cloaks! I suppose they have a kind of Roman hierarchy. What with all Latin and all!

**(*3)** Municium comes from the Latin word 'Municipium'which referred to a community incorporated into the Roman state. There was no real reason why I took out a few letters it just sounded better to me to call the cluster of buildings the Municium! And 'Veteres' is a Latin word for Ancients if you were wondering, in place of the Roman 'S.P.Q.R.'

**(*4)** '_Quid esse erit'_ basically translates as 'what will be will be.' Suddenly all this reminds me of the demon Mephistopheles from Marlowe's play; Dr Faustus. Awkward.


	14. Super Spies and Malignant Memories

**What Unusual halflives we lead**

Chapter 14: Super Spies and Malignant Memories

* * *

><p>Sam and Tucker had run swiftly through the streets of Amity Park which by now were not as quiet and dark as their midnight meanderings the other night had been. It was past midday and as it was sunny the whole town was out in force as they passed the shops and parks of the city.<p>

They rode the bus as close to the mayor's mansion as it went on its route, and then Tucker lagged behind the Goth girl as she stalked the quiet road that lead to the house. Her combat boots making loud 'stomping' sounds each time, "Come on, Tucker!" she yelled without turning around. Her friend's lack of fitness serious annoyed her sometimes and now that they needed to gate-crash Vlad's to find Danny Tucker was once more only proving that he needed to work out more.

"But we've…walked like…a million miles…and…" Tucker exhaled and leaned his hands on his knees as he stopped for breath.

"Barely half a mile, we took the bus to keep you happy, and I keep telling you; you need to work out more, Tuck!" Sam replied but Tucker vigorously shook his head and carried on stumbling forwards. When the teens finally reached the mansion; one exhausted and one still overflowing with enthusiasm, they climbed the stairs to the door.

"OPEN UP, FRUIT LOOP!" Sam yelled as she banged on the large double doors with her fist.

The exhausted, sweating techno-geek used this time to once more attempt to catch his breath as he added a weak sounding; "Yeah…dude…like…open the…the doors, man…" and waved a tired fist in the air.

After a minute the shiny door on the right opened silently and from the shadows behind it there emerged a woman in a dress-uniform. "And who…are you?" she asked them with disdain and condescension dripping from her educated, upper-class sounding voice. Her hair was pinned back and she had harsh, no-nonsense features which twitched at the sound of the overly loud tone of the Goth girl on the doorstep.

"DANNY!" she shouted and the resting birds in the trees all took off creating a flock of commotion in the air.

"May I help you, children?" the maid asked, clearly irked from having her previous question ignored.

"Where's Danny Fenton?" Sam asked furiously, "We know Vlad took him, so just let him out, will you?" her voice had lowered but she was still fuming and was not the calming image of diplomacy she perhaps should have been.

"I'm afraid Mr Masters is not here, the mayor's staff are the only people in this house, not that that's any of your business, now I'll ask you to leave," the stern matron-like maid said and went to close the door.

But Sam's heavy combat boot jammed the door with no pain to her foot, "We're not goin' anywhere till we find Danny," she said in a voice that rivalled the older woman's.

"There is no 'Danny' here, now I won't ask you children again; leave," she ordered and just like that the door was slammed shut and Sam's boot with it.

"HEY! I'm not finished with you yet!" Sam shouted but there was no answer.

"Nice workers the dude keeps," Tucker scoffed, his breathing now back to normal.

"What d'we do now?" Sam moaned as she punched the door one last time in anger she spun on her heels and turned to face the green scenery around the mansion.

"Dunno…what about Mr and Mrs Fenton…or Jazz, where did they disappear to anyway?"

"How the hell should I know?" she shouted and felt like she wanted to pull her hair out and scream her lungs out.

"Maybe we should…I dunno ask if anyone saw anything…or…" he shrugged.

"And how would we do that…oh, oh…sorry excuse me sir, you didn't happen to hear anything strange over at the Fenton's did you? DUH! Tucker their ghost hunters, remember, weird stuff happens all the time and their usually the **suspects** not the victims!"

Tucker only sighed in frustration as the two teens began to make their way back down the empty drive way.

"We could try the hospital…they're like regulars down there," Sam suggested, "Someone's gotta know if somethin' happened, right?" Sam exclaimed; all previous anger forgotten.

"Oh, man…the hospital!" Tucker sighed, this just wasn't his day, "Really, Sam, do we have to?" he really didn't want to even say the word let alone go into the actual building.

"YES!" the girl shouted and began running down the drive way.

* * *

><p>"Who was that?" Alothea asked as soon as Marion closed the door rather abruptly.<p>

"Danny Fenton's friends," the older maid answered and rolled her eyes, "The master warned me that they might show up…but he didn't warn me they would be quite so loud…if I had a beating heart I might have had a heart attack," she replied disapprovingly, and walked away from the foyer.

"Hmm, maybe someone should keep an eye on them…they might mess up the masters plans," Alothea suggested quietly.

"Maybe, but I don't have the time to follow them, the whole of the west wing needs dusting and I…"

"Marion, there** are** more important things than dusting," Alothea scolded, but her fellow Spectral was having none of it.

"Not to me," the Spectral said, her voice high and disbelieving, "You can go and play spies if you want, I have work to do," and with that Alothea sighed and watched as the 'head' maid left her company, she then glanced over a the front doors as if they were the most interesting thing since sliced bread. She turned her head round and her human appearance began to peel away, with a ghostly smile she phased through them and vacated the mansion.

* * *

><p>Sam's enthusiasm and determination showed no sign of fading as the two teens marched through the hospital doors with Tucker looking slightly worse for the wear. The hospital of Amity Park was well used to strange happenings and even stranger entrances since the town seemed to be a ghostly 'hot-spot.' The doctors and nurses had had no choice other than to grow used to strange visitors and accidents over the years despite the ridiculousness of the whole situation.<p>

So when a gothy teenager stomped into the building with a boy quivering behind her, no one really took much notice, after all they had seen far stranger.

The Goth girl made her way over to the reception desk and loudly addressed the unfortunate secretary who happened to be at the desk. "Fenton's; they here or not?" Sam demanded.

"Calm down, Sam…maybe…they're n…not here anyway" Tucker stuttered and panted from behind her. The tired looking techno geek had chosen to slouch in one of the near-by chairs in the waiting area and was looking cautiously over at his friend.

"Fenton…" the petite woman with glowing green eyes at the desk repeated as she typed the name into the computer, "Are you…relatives…"

"Yeah," Sam answered confidently in a don't-argue-with-me tone before Tucker could correct her.

"Okay…that Mr and Mrs Fenton and their daughter Jasmine were admitted Friday night with serious lacerations; Mr Fenton was the worst off it seems…he had a broken wrist and a fractured leg. They're in private room 7," she smiled sweetly.

"Private room?" Tucker repeated, "Who's payin' for that?" his irrational fear of hospitals slipping away as his curiosity increased.

"Well," the secretary began, "It says Mr Masters ordered the room," she replied quietly.

"Right, come on, Tuck," Sam said and pulled her friend by the arm in the right direction.

"Err…thank you…" the techno geek cried as he was dragged away. The secretary suddenly shivered and blinked as her eyes changed from green to brown in confusion, but politely replied; "You're welcome." **(*1)**

"Why would Vlad pay the bill?" Sam questioned as they made their way down the sterile corridor, "Why would he even bring them here at all?"

"Didn't you notice, Sam; she didn't mention Danny," Tucker added as they looked around for the right room and his eyes shot fearfully from one wall to another.

"I know…" she answered in a whisper, and ignoring her friend's fears she opened the door to private room number 7.

The white sterile rooms had always creeped Tucker out, even Sam hated the sterility and the dullness…who didn't…but she understood that they were a necessity…unlike Tucker. Their eyes searched the room and eventually settled on the white sheets of the beds and their motionless inhabitants.

"What d'ya think happened to 'em?" Tuck muttered and lowered himself on one of the plastic chairs in the corner of the room.

"I dunno…but something worse might have happened to Danny…" Sam responded and together they quietly brainstormed ideas whilst sending worried glances at the sleeping Fenton's.

* * *

><p>Vlad continued to pilot his expensive <em>Spectre Speeder<em> while Danny was slouching in his seat with his head resting on his chest; the boy had finally given in to exhaustion. He had watched the boy put up a valiant effort but he knew from fleeting observations alone, that this was one very exhausted ghost boy. And the fun hadn't even started yet; it didn't do much to inspire hope or confidence in the older hybrid. But he figured that Daniel was probably in need of the rest if he was tired enough to snooze in front of his 'enemy.'

Daniel had taken the idea of a 'truce' and run with it with more speed than Vlad thought he would, he had expected some resistance, but had met with none. But he wouldn't complain, Vlad had to admit that he had been shaken as much as the boy beside him had; he just hoped he hid it better.

It was impossible to tell the night from the day in the Ghost Zone but from a glance at his watch Vlad knew it was late afternoon; he couldn't help but smile slightly as he remembered that by now the boy was probably missing his little party. Even with such an unconventional lifestyle Daniel still found the time to worry about his 'street cred' and teenage parties, but Vlad supposed that that was just an inescapable part of adolescence in both humans and half-humans. He no longer had the time or the patience to deal with trivialities; he knew what he wanted and he did what he had to do to get it, he always had and he always would.

But now that something was potentially jeopardising all of his present and future plans he had even less time to deal with trivial matters. All that mattered now was survival; it was a deeply ingrained instinct in any human being…well most human beings, and one which had been tried and tested in Vladimir Masters all too often.

Most recently, it had just about managed to save his life…

* * *

><p><em>Vlad had been lounging in his sitting room in the late afternoon; his white cat Maddie lay curled up in front of the roaring fire, and the inspiring music of Beethoven, a glass of red wine, and a lengthy novel on lost civilisations were his only companions. After a rather successful day he felt he deserved a night of relaxation. So, following an enjoyable meal cooked by his overly-zealous chefs he had retreated, for all intents and purposes, to his own little world.<em>

_For a while all had been peaceful; he had divided his day between flitting from office to office for his companies and 'plotting' his next way to test Daniel's powers. The boy would never believe him if Vlad told him but many of his plans were designed to improve the boy's powers and test his intelligence. Oh, at first they __**were**__ intended for the billionaire to rid himself of a meddlesome pest, but occasionally he liked to manipulate his 'villain' persona to test the 'hero's' progress, if he didn't who else was going to help the boy improve? Daniel's little friends could only provide so much help; they were human, what did they know about ghost powers?_

_But the boy needed guidance, and he was the only one who could provide it; it was a revelation that had, admittedly, taken a while to appear to him. Now that it had, it would not go away and only increased his desire to have the ghost boy by his side as a pupil, or a son…_

_He had been turning the page half-way through his book with his long, elegant fingers when he felt his internal ghost sense suddenly set him on the alert. However, there was something different about this one; usually it was just the obligatory shiver down the spine and the sudden feeling of warmth in his chest. This time it was worse. This time he felt like his heart and lungs were inflamed and burning his chest from the inside, it was an excruciating feeling that seemed familiar somehow…_

_But he had no time to reminisce as he jumped out of his chair tossing his book and wine glass onto the floor with a 'thud' as the novel hit the ground and a devastating 'crash' as the glass shattered. He had felt the mansion shake, Vlad was sure of it…like from an earthquake._

_A very BIG earthquake!_

_He quickly began surveying the dark room and he could hear the windows tremble in their frames and the walls began to quiver and quake. Vlad felt the sudden presences of his Spectral staff who now stared at him with their hollow eyes, with shock and apprehension showing through at him. "What in the name of evil?" he muttered and transformed quickly into his powerful ghostly counterpart._

"_We seem to have a guest, sir," he vaguely heard Alothea's suddenly sarcastic tone say, but he merely scoffed._

"_Switch on the ghost shield, and be quick about it," he ordered, and before they were able to comply he flew intangibly through the mansion's many floors and came to hover above the grand building; his keen red eyes scoured the dark, empty landscape._

_His nearest neighbours lived only around 2 miles away, but his surrounding land was littered with trees and hedgerows that made it seem far more isolated than it actually was. It was an ideal place for the half ghost since he had many…unusual visitors that would cause havoc in a crowded neighbourhood. It was why he had always chosen to live in places that encouraged solitude…well, it was __**one **__of the reasons he preferred his isolation anyway._

_His heightened senses were on full alert as he listened to the sound of his ghost shield humming to life around his home, to the quieter sounds of the nocturnal animals, the low whisper of the wind and the rustling of the trees. He felt the calming breeze caress his pale face, his dark hair and his billowing cloak as it passed him quietly by, and he could smell the grass far below him._

_But nothing seemed out of place…not a single sight sound or smell was out of the ordinary. There was no sign of this 'visitor' that had been able to set the billionaire so on edge with so little effort._

_But the wealthy half ghost knew better then to disregard his instincts; they had been honed and trained for the sole purpose of survival over the last 20 years, and they had never failed him. He refused to ignore the strange force that had shaken his house and set of his ghost sense in such an unusual fashion._

_Feeling a cold breath down his neck without hesitation he spun in the air expecting…or hoping to find only the ever-irritating Box ghost or the simpleton Klemper._

_He found nothing…only more darkness…something was here…he was sure of it._

_Vlad could still feel his ghost sense screaming 'danger' at him, despite the fact this he was distinguish no visible threat he still felt something that told him to run. Of course he ignored it, it was unacceptable to run from anything…he had only ever done so once in his life, and he never intended on running again. Vladimir Masters was a man; he faced his problems head on…even when he didn't quite know what the problem was._

_Anticipating an attack his gloved hands lit up with powerful electricity; his 'weapon-of-choice' so to speak, and a power that had been helping him since he mastered control of it 10 years ago. His whole body crackled with power as he flew gracefully over the mansion carefully avoiding the shimmering ghost shield, he glided over the elaborate brick chimneys and tiled rooftops and hovered once more over his mansion._

_Like a king he surveyed his empire and narrowed his eyes at the gloomy clouds as a dark fog-like mist began swerving its way through the sky. It was like nothing Vlad had ever seen in his life; like a murky plague it worked its way round the clouds turning them spookily from muddy grey to death black as it seemed to consume them._

_Vlad's famous instincts were not only screaming at him, so much as bellowing in choruses and waving huge signs at him with only one word; 'run!' It unnerved him that something so…simple, could inspire such fear in him…HIM…one of the most powerful of all the ghosts!_

_All of the mist now seemed to converge in a single space directly above him, and with the loud voice telling him to run, there was no doubt in his mind that whatever was happening was bad, bad, BAD news for him._

_He raised both hands and quickly fired a glowing electrical bolt up into the gathering, lofty cloud. To his horror and dismay his attack only went harmlessly through it and it merely continued to form a large single cloud in the sky, completely unfazed by his powerful attack._

"_What are you?" he muttered as he was left with little choice but to wait and see what the mist formed._

_After what seemed like hours to the anxious hybrid there was now a huge shadow, at first he had thought it wore a cloak, but now he was able to see that its figure was obscure and vague. It was a strange combination, but at the same time he was able to clearly distinguish this new being from the sky and at the same time it seemed a part of the dark clouds._

_He was able to see two unforgiving black eyes fix themselves on him and two bestial horns of twisted bone protruded from its ugly, and yet proud head. Around its shoulders lay tattered rags of purple fabric and the remnants of a battered skull-shaped clasp that dissipated into the darkness surrounding it. The overall conclusion was a hyperbolic image of repugnance and captivation at this peculiar display of power._

_For a moment they simply stared at each other, neither willing to admit weakness first and look away, it could have gone on for hours had it not been for another earthly tremor. And unfortunately for Vlad it gave a sufficient distraction for this new creature to break away from their little 'staring match.' It fired an unconventional blast of what looked like black fire from its right hand._

_Vlad didn't have time to be sure of the particulars as he flew quickly out of the line of fire, he shot up into the air and floated opposite his attacker. Unexpectedly the beasts dark energy didn't bounce off the glowing ghost shield as it should have…it went straight though it!_

_Now that he was thoroughly shocked Vlad watched as the black flames suddenly began to lick at the rooftop of his mansion as if his ghost shield hadn't been there at all. This meant a serious disadvantage to Vlad. Despite appearances the billionaire wasn't really a materialistic person…expect his Packers collection…there was nothing in the house he couldn't replace. And his Spectrals would be able to deal with the fire; they were not completely incompetent…despite appearances. His lab was impenetrable…but that was what he had thought of his ghost shield. Maybe this visitor wasn't actually a ghost…_

_Without a another thought Vlad retaliated and sent another electrically charged blast at his enemy, strangely enough this one did hit and it seemed to scream and growl at him as its dark body was shocked by purple electricity._

_Not wanting to waste an opportunity Vlad had decided to take advantage of this sudden weakness and he invisibly flew closer to the beast. He created three clones to do the same and together they attacked simultaneously from all sides. It was now that he began to feel that perhaps his previous anxiety had been exaggerated as he and his clones continued to bombard the shadowy entity._

_Once more the billionaire was taken by surprise…which was no easy task…as it suddenly flexed its clawed hands and let out a fearsome roar. It was powerful enough to shake the ground again and soon there was more black energy spilling from its hands. It trailed through the air and before any of the Vlad's could react all four were consumed by it, just as the clouds had been._

_Vlad couldn't even think as his whole body was burnt by the flames, his clones vanished instantly on contact and he failed to prevent a loud, agonised scream from his passing his lips. He tried to attack back, to distract this monster from its attack so that he could escape…but he could think…this must have been how deer's feel when caught in unforgiving headlights!_

_This was completely unexpected…he had never seen or felt anything like this before…it magnified the pain from his first ghostly transformation all those years ago and many vile attacks since…this was true undiluted agony and helplessness._

_Somewhere along the line he must have been forced to morph back into his human half as he felt himself crashing through the rafters and several layers of brick, plaster and wood. When his unbearable descent came to an abrupt end he could only turn his head to see the chaos created from a single attack._

_His clothes were torn and spotted with stomach-churning blood and ectoplasm, his skin was burnt and blackened, he saw black flames around his once quiet and peaceful mansion consume the walls as it crept closer and closer. It was a warm flame and at the same time it sent shivers down his spine just looking at it; his battered senses were still telling him to fly, run, or crawl…anything to get away from this monster…this freak of nature with such ridiculous power._

_His world had been brought down with a single blow…the king had been toppled and the game had been lost…this defeat had seemed effortless for his enemy…and that stung more than the bleeding wounds or 2__nd__ , 3__rd__ or even 4__th__ degree burns ever could…and he knew this, he had experienced every one of them. Defeat was by far the worst!_

_The stubborn side of him tried to force his battered body to get up…to get up and fight…but his rational mind decreed that to be impossible…how could he fight something like this? Something that seemed to have been designed for the sole purpose of destroying him…an old enemy perhaps…several old enemies?_

_But it didn't matter…he was a dead man…he was sure of it, his body wouldn't move and he could only gasp and wince in pain as his muscles protested any involvement in doing so._

_The small yet gaping hole in the roof that ran straight through the house was suddenly enlarged as the embodiment of his torment flew crashing in. Chunks of debris of every size fell from the ceiling as the damage increased, he closed his eyes and turned his head into the ground in an attempt to protect himself…or what was left of him._

_If his end was to come he would not go down like a coward…he had dealt with enough of those to know that their pitiful end was easily forgotten…no matter how difficult he would try to cause __**some**__ damage to this monstrosity._

_He willed his transformation rings to life and slowly he tried to change back…but he failed…and he was left with even less energy than before. He could give up…_

_Suddenly he heard a loud, ear-straining bestial roar and Vlad strained his spiralling vision to see that the beast was no longer staring down at him. It had turned around to face seven glowing Spectrals one of whom it seemed had attacked, but he couldn't see which one…perhaps he had been wrong, his staff were as stupid as their appearances suggested…if he could be reduced to this with one attack, what made them think they could do anything to help. Which one of them had foolishly condemned the seven of them?_

_They should have just stayed hidden while it killed him…_

…_Then it hit him…they were trying to distract it…but what was the use if he couldn't even move? They were all dead…well __**he**__ was dead and they were…more dead…_

_Despite the fact that he was most likely condemning himself; Vlad forced himself to his knees as silently as his body would permit and forced his hands to glow with weak, reluctant electricity. Once it was done he took aim and fired…and once more there was a feral scream that shook the house down to its foundations and made them tremble with fear._

_It quickly took aim at the Spectrals and fired them through the walls with a powerful culmination of angry black fire. Then it turned back to Vlad…with the distractions out of the way it was free to kill its prey however it wanted._

_Was this how Daniel felt when Vlad had him cornered in one of his 'plans'? This helplessness was unbearable and he had vowed a long time ago to never feel like this again…but everyone can be bested by something…no matter how strong you were there was always something more powerful. Strangely it was that thought that had helped to encourage him…__**he**__ wanted to be the top of the food-chain…and for a while he thought he was…Until tonight…_

_Vlad raised a battered, bleeding hand to create a weak ecto-shield…which was effortlessly batted away with the beasts hand like a fly! It came again and it the clawed hand threw the billionaire into a flaming wall. With a grunt of pain Vlad forced open his eyes and forced another shield to life in front of him, he hoped it was stronger than the last one…_

_He was rewarded when the bestial hand was allowed to come no further, it had been stopped…for the moment. How long could Vlad keep this up… an hour… half an hour…he very much doubted it, his vision was already fading and he didn't even have the strength to retreat. Analysing the situation had never failed him before…Until tonight…_

_When he thought all was lost he faintly heard the crackling sound of an energy blast in the deathly silence…he heard an ear-shattering scream and a war-like 'smash.' He couldn't be sure what had happened…he could only be sure that the callous attack on his shield had ended; he no longer felt its strain on his lifeless arms._

_With unwilling eyes Vlad was able to see a blurred image of a purple distortion…not black…an amethyst blur hovered over him…was this another threat? He was sure he felt his weakened ghost sense warn him…but he was too far gone to be sure._

_It regarded him for a second and for a while Vlad willed his eyes to remain open…he needed to see what this new threat was…but then all presence of it simply vanished…and he wasn't sure whether there had been anything there at all…had it been his desperate imagination?_

_Whatever it was it had provided the billionaire with a second chance and he did not intend to waste it!_

_Pushing aside the protests of his deteriorating body he willed his mind to comply…and he was rewarded when he felt his body alight with electricity…his very heart was driving the force through his veins and into his limbs. He was not weak…this was what power felt like…real power and he would use it to save his life…he would not die here, not now!_

_He let lose all of this accumulating power and prayed that it hit its target, and when he heard a hoarse, feral screech tear its way through his ear drums he couldn't help but smile._

_He never lost!_

_His senses took over as he could no longer rely on his blurred vision alone; the black beast was simmering in a corner…its body no longer aflame…it presence felt weaker…no longer the awe inspiring image it had once been. Vlad felt its anger and its pain…and he watched as it simply vanished. The black fires receded and the corner where it had landed was now devoid of dark monsters._

_Its black death-like presence was removed from his mansion as if it had never been there at all…of course the damage said differently but now all felt…almost calm._

_He froze on his knees…__**it had gone**__…he had won and he was alive…Vlad forced his eyes to remain open with herculean effort and once he was completely satisfied that the threat had, for some unfathomable reason, vacated the premises he allowed himself the luxury of painless oblivion…_

* * *

><p>It had taken him weeks to fully recover, he had used too much of his power in that fight, but once he had woken his servants had informed him that they had repaired the house and that, to explain his absence, he had gone on a 'business trip' to survey his many financial investments.<p>

But that was the least of his worries; he'd demanded to know what had attacked him, he'd demanded to know why and how it had gained the upper hand so easily. But they'd had no answers to give him. Most of the house had been badly damaged as the flames had spread quickly…far more quickly than mortal fire…but the damage had been repaired. Also many of his cameras had been destroyed…they were unable to repair them.

The only image he was left with was what he could remember, and much of that had most likely been distorted by primal fear…not something he was able to control and he cursed the annoying beast that had spoilt his afternoon.

He had still not discovered what the purple blur had been, was it friend or foe?

His musing were cut short as Vlad heard the sleeping child stir, Danny yawned and stretched his arms and legs, he glanced around the _Spectre Speeder_ when his eyes finally settled on Vlad.

Danny sighed and frowned, once more he had been hoping and praying that the whole thing had been a dream…but now he was just waking up and this was the nightmare…there was no escaping it. "Where are we?" he asked quietly as he debated whether or not to just give up and stare completely out of the window. At the moment he could see the Zone out of the corner of his eyes, but it wasn't the same as seeing something directly in your line of sight.

"No-where special," Vlad replied without taking his eyes of the 'road.'

"I could drive for a bit, y'know," he suggested quietly. Maybe Vlad needed a break too; he wasn't trying to be generous or anything, Danny just figured that since they had a truce it was only fair that they both got to rest.

"I don't think so, Daniel" Vlad replied with a smile.

"Hey! Why not? I can drive just fine y'know," Danny defended, he had driven his parents _Assault Vehicle_ plenty of times…and he drove it better than his dad anyway. "And how many times; it's Danny! DA-NNY!" he sounded his name phonetically and crossed his arms, "Not like there's anything to crash into, anyway," he muttered bitterly.

"That's as may be, but I will be doing the driving," Vlad answered in a rather amused voice, he wondered what had prompted the offer from the stubborn teen.

"Fine," Danny replied tersely and turned his eyes out of the window. Once you got used to it it wasn't so bad…okay…it was still bad, but it wasn't sending Danny into a quivering mass in the corner and that was good enough for him. Maybe Vlad had been right; practice helped…Danny cringed at the memory of his little episode earlier…that had been embarrassing, and he did all he could to push it from his mind.

They lapsed into silence once more, both half-ghosts deep in thought; Vlad had been surprised that they had not been attacked again, or even followed, he would know if they had been. But he would have sent things after his prey to catch it…maybe he really didn't understand how the monstrous Calidae's mind worked. And unfortunately that was another disadvantage…he didn't even know what it wanted and without that he had no hope of understanding its motives. If he didn't learn anything from this 'trip,' then he really had no idea what else to do…

Meanwhile Danny was busy attempting to count the number of small floating rocks out of the window as a means of distracting himself from lapsing into fear. There were goose-bumps on his arms and the back of his neck despite the warm sweater but it could have been worse, he could deal with it. It wasn't like he was a stranger to fear.

As he continued to glance out of the window a strange sight caught his eye; it was a single black feather fluttering past as if caught in a non-existent breeze. Danny watched it as it quickly passed out of sight and was replaced with another and another until the whole side window was covered in them. "Err…Vlad…" he muttered hurriedly.

"Hmm…"

"What's that?" Danny asked quietly and pointed over to his right.

Vlad turned his head to look out of the window and saw a lethal looking cloud of black mist, there appeared to be thousands of black feathers and dark flames that made up a thick swarm. Within seconds this swarm had grown and spread and was now visible from every angle in all its horrifying glory.

**Here** was the attack he had been anticipating, and he mentally swore at whatever deity was listening…this was not his day…or his week…or his month really!

What the hell was he supposed to do now? Put up the shield and hope for the best? Would it even hold against all of that? They would have to fight…and now the fun begins!

* * *

><p><strong>(*1) <strong>Did I hint at this enough? The poor, unfortunate secretary has been overshadowed by…well you tell me…

Oh and I didn't know if they number the Private rooms or not so don't shout at me if they don't, I don't tend to spend a lot of time hanging round in hospitals.


	15. Birds of a Feather…

**What Unusual halflives we lead**

Chapter 15: Birds of a Feather…

* * *

><p>Danny and Vlad stared wide-eyed at the huge gathering swarm in front of them; billowing black flames leapt from the backs of the plumaged avian giants while small lifeless feathers fell into the swirling atmosphere below. Like envoys of the Grim Reaper himself the birds were skeletal and cadaverous as their endless black eyes remained fixed on the small <em>Spectre Speeder<em> that had come to an abrupt halt.

The older hybrid glanced over at Danny to see that the boy's gaze was still fixed on the swarm and that said eyes were glowing green. "Daniel," he said in a commanding tone. It was enough to shock the ghost boy out of his trance and the green eyes turned to face him.

Strangely enough he saw a hint of the determined child that Daniel usually was rather than the frightened child that he perhaps **should** be, and it was that which never failed to remind him of him-self.

With a calculative frown he drove the vehicle quickly through the Ghost Zone and away from the following swarm which was quickly closing in on them, and found a small cave that would hopefully help him. Vlad wedged the _Speeder_ in-between the rocks and knowing that it would be impossible to outrun them he transformed ready to fight…so much for his tactical retreat!

Danny followed Vlad's lead and quickly became Danny Phantom; he was able to think clearly now with the black swarm temporarily out of sight and he sat bolt upright in anticipation. What were they supposed to do against so many ghostly birds? This did not look good for either of them, he supposed Vlad would do better than him; the older half ghost was stronger and took care of the last one easily enough. It had taken Danny a lot of effort just to get the thing to squawk at him, and now there were hundreds of the things…the result; a plucked and pecked ghost boy!

Vlad picked up the device for the ghost shield and strapped the sword onto his belt, he then teleported without a word to Danny and reappeared outside of the vehicle. He didn't even look at the boy as he switched on the shield and disappeared again. It would only take the boy a few seconds to figure out that he would need to exit the _Speeder _as a human and morph back again; but they were vital seconds that were necessary to the plan quickly forming in the mind of Vlad Plasmius.

He was well aware that even with Daniel's aid they had no chance of success against so many adversaries; so he was working under the plan of divide and conquer. As he alone emerged in front of the swarm it halted its rapid advance and suddenly a thousand eyes were turned on him he tried not to shiver.

Usually he didn't mind being the centre of attention, but in this case he'd made an exception…the cold uncertain shivers that made him want to turn tail and run were of course ignored by the half ghost. But he couldn't deny that these were not good odds to be up against and he knew better to fight a battle he had no hope of winning. Something he had yet to teach Daniel to understand. So he would need to manipulate his advantages and turn the situation into something more in his favour.

He drew the shining sword from his belt which was now pulsating with his overflowing purple electricity, as his red eyes dared the ghastly avians to challenge him. Fortunately for Vlad most beings do not take kindly to being challenged and will immediately retaliate…which was of course his plan.

The now furious flock of fuming fowls flew straight towards him and without further ado he effortlessly swung the blade in the air. It made a beautiful 'swooshing' sound in its wake and it was immediately followed by a small scar-shaped glow…it expanded into a huge purple tear in the very fabric of the Ghost Zone and as the birds advanced they flew stupidly into the portal.

Vlad had aimed for it to lead into a far flung part of the Zone and not into the human world…but he didn't have the time to be fastidious, or the energy.

The sword was like his new ghost/spirit shield, they both needed a power source to run off; he hadn't had the time to improve the shield and he'd never really bothered to alter the sword so he really only had bad luck and himself to blame.

Vlad could feel the portal tear at his energy reserves far more than a simple shield ever could as the tear continued to expand. This was why he had put off using the weapon…once he perfected it, it would give him an unparalleled advantage over any other ghost because, unlike Wulf, **he**had the brains to maximise its full potential. Until that time it was dangerously unstable and draining because he was forced to act as a living battery for it.

It was something that would present far more difficulty for Daniel than it did for Vlad; not only were the boy's powers ice-based rather than electrical, but he didn't have nearly enough power to fuel the sword like this. And the more birds that were dealt with now meant less for him and Daniel to fight, and they didn't have the time to play soldiers.

The whole thing had happened within seconds but he already felt lethargic and sluggish, he saw the portal begin to condense as it gradually closed in on itself and his ghost sense now informed him that Daniel was fast approaching. He had no concentration left to prevent the red mist escape his mouth and seeing it slightly surprised him…over the years he had begun to forget that it actually did that.

Vlad silently hoped that Daniel would not barge in all 'fists-blazing' and ruin his efforts, he debated sending out a clone to meet the boy but it would take valuable energy that he couldn't waste…so he would need to rely on Daniel's intelligence. He prayed that the boy would have the wit to realise what he was doing; the ghost boy was not stupid, but sometimes he **forgot **to use his head.

As the portal continued to close Vlad was left increasingly vulnerable as now the birds could fly around what was left of the floating portal and get to him. It was no longer worth keeping it up so he severed all ties with the blade and quickly slid it back into the scabbard. And he was proud to notice that almost half of the swarm had vanished…but that still left an awful lot of swarm to go.

With a look of surprise he felt something watching his back, call it ghost sense or intuition Vlad just knew; he expected it was just Daniel. But he spun around and saw a lone bird glaring at him as it flew at him…how had he allowed that to happen?

His hands ignited instantly but before he had the chance to fire at his adversary it was shot down with glowing green ectoplasm and thrown violently down onto a nearby rock. He followed the trajectory of the blast and was unsurprised to see Daniel 'holding the smoking gun,' so to speak.

The boy looked furious, no doubt at him again, as his green eyes locked with Vlad's and the older hybrid wondered when he had gotten so weak that he needed to rely on a child for help. He was allowed to help Daniel because they were both aware that Vlad was the superior but for Daniel to reciprocate was still unacceptable in his mind. Vlad knew he didn't need to rely on anyone…even Daniel. It was Daniel who needed to rely on him.

With a remorseful frown Vlad threw himself into the ensuing fight as the remaining birds fired black energy from their sharp beaks at both him and the boy. Vlad turned him-self intangible to avoid the attack and flew straight at his attackers, he began to retaliate and he soared invisibly over the monstrous birds.

In-between his own attacks he absorbed and redirected some of the black flames back onto the birds themselves for quickness, but it left a strange feeling in his hands so he used it only briefly. It felt like his limbs were not quite his own anymore, like something was trying to overshadow him and control his mind as well as his hands. It was not a pleasant feeling and not one he wanted to willingly repeat.

When he had an opening he looked round for Daniel and saw the boy continuing his attacks from the far end of the swarm and saw that he had been justified in telling him that they worked well together. Despite the considerable difference in the strength of their powers he knew that Daniel was an excellent fighter…more so than anyone he knew, except himself of course, but he could trust that the boy would not go down easily or quietly. He knew from experience about the quiet part.

For a while it seemed that the two were experiencing a U-turn in their so far unlucky streak, Vlad continually fired his electricity at the birds, which he now knew were not as smart as he'd originally believed but were still a force to be reckoned with when it was two against two hundred or more.

He watched as Daniel seemed to be doing fine by himself and was actually smiling as he froze another bird and blew it into a thousand pieces before it could attack him. The ghost boy soon noticed Vlad's distraction, "Hey old man, feathered fiend at 6 o'clock," the boy shouted at him and Vlad fired an attack behind him without turning around.

He was rewarded with a loud 'squawk' and smiled back at Daniel, "Feathered fiend?" Vlad repeated curiously with a raised eyebrow and ignored the jab at his age.

"I don't expect you to understand, Vlad, it's called alliteration but I guess you didn't have it in the dark-ages," Danny smirked and continued to fire ectoplasm from his hands.

"Hilarious, Daniel," Vlad shouted back, and his pointed fangs showing as he continued to fight.

Together it didn't take them long to make an increasing dent in the number of birds, but the more successful the half ghosts were the more angry the avians were and their dark attacks may not have increased in power but they were coming faster and faster.

And finally one hit the ghost boy directly as he was too busy to dodge it, Danny yelled in shock as he felt his left side burn in agony…being forced to defend on multiple sides had never been his strong point but until now he thought he had been doing okay. He felt himself hurtle through the Zone and groaned as he landed on a floating rock before he could stop his descent.

"Damn…" he muttered and lifted his right hand to clutch at his wounded side…the bird just had to have hit the sore wound didn't he? It was becoming increasingly hotter and hotter and he curled in on himself as he tried to push the heat aside. It was just his luck for something like that to happen….never mind Bad-Luck-Tuck; he may as well have been Bad-Luck-(Inviso)Bill.

He tried using his ice powers to cool himself down; the area surrounding him was becoming covered in ice and snow as the temperature dropped considerably, but it quickly melted as Danny began to emit a fait red glow instead of his usual white aura. He saw his gloved fingers glowing red and his eyes widened in panic…this couldn't be good.

He let out his powers more and more, and soon the whole rock was completely coated in crystallised ice and pointed stalactites hung dangerously from the bottom. His control over his ice powers were slipping with each passing second and as the heat continued to spread throughout his body so did the ice in the Ghost Zone.

Vlad watched as the ice from Daniel's body began to spread and he saw the red glow that had the boy so worried…it had him worried too. It was making the boy loose his control and that was dangerous for either of them in any situation.

But he couldn't get close enough to do anything about it because he would be frozen instantly and that wouldn't help either of them. So he chose to focus on completing the task at hand then he would think about Daniel. He already felt depleted of vital energy and he dare no use his sword again for fear that it would render him unconscious.

With the significant number of birds left for him to defeat alone he had little time to come up with anything major. But Vlad was used to thinking on the spot; he was a businessman, a politician, and a powerful ghost. He was left with little choice but to force himself to form a huge Ecto-Tornado **(*1)**which created stormy pink, purple and grey winds in a blustering twister shape. The smaller the tornado the more powerful it was because it was a more condensed form and made it easier to control.

Now with an added electrical charge it was not to be stopped as it swerved and spiralled its way towards the remaining swarm. Each one was literally blown away and like music to Vlad's ears each one let out a blood-curdling cry of agony and terror.

With an indistinguishable smirk he completed his task and soon there was no one but him and the ghost boy in sight. There were stray black feathers that still floated in the ethers as Vlad's tornado came to a halt; his cape billowed behind him and he held a hand to his aching head. He was hardly at full power and it was dizzying at the best of times so for a moment he waited as his vision readjusted itself; the grey blurs soon became stationary rocks and purple blotches became doors once more.

Then a white and silver spot cleared and became the frozen rock on which the young hybrid was laying. Vlad could see that the boy was curled up and hugging himself as he shivered against the faint red glow around his body so he flew down towards it. He came to hover over the frozen rock and watched as the ice grew thicker and thicker…there was even snow falling around the older hybrid. "Daniel," he tried, and failed to get the child's attention.

Danny was too preoccupied in keeping out the blistering heat than listening to strange voices as he continued to let out more and more of his ice powers. Frostbite would probably be angry with him for willingly letting his control slip like this but he had no choice; to him searing heat was worse than the freezing cold.

Soon the young hybrid felt a new, invading power surround him, it was different from the red glow that he was trying to ignore…it wasn't quite like the heat from his wound…it was warm but not blistering. He couldn't put his finger on it, but it definitely felt familiar to him. Then he tried to prevent a scream from escaping his lips…there were three strong powers fighting for dominance inside of him; his own cold ice powers, a red angry heat, and a new prickling kind of static that wouldn't go away. And it was not a pleasant combination.

Vlad watched as the boy's eyes widened in shock at the addition of his own electrical powers, but he had been left with no other options. The red glow was trying to overpower Daniel and he couldn't let that happen so he would need to help the boy subdue his internal intruder. He was unsure if his plan would work and he already felt his feet beginning to freeze over from the ice on the ground. He needed to convince the boy that he was not the enemy in this instance and that it was essential for Daniel to reign in his control.

Vlad increased his energy so that his purple aura spread around the boy and now the red and mauve energies were dancing a lethal fight around the struggling child. "Daniel, listen to me; **I'm** not the enemy here," he voiced once more in a commanding tone and now the boy opened his eyes slightly.

Danny had forced his eyes open and saw that Vlad was the owner of the strange voice he had heard earlier and that the man was in front of him. He also saw that everything near them was completely iced over…had they reached the Far Frozen without realising it? "What…" he muttered quietly. But he felt the red heat fade slightly and soon his ice powers felt more powerful, strong enough to rid his body of the invading energy that was trying to turn him into roasted hybrid on a platter.

Together with his cold, cerulean and silvery energy there was an adjoining purple that twisted around it forcing it forwards against the oncoming red storm that threatened to overpower him. Soon he felt the heat leave and all was comforting cold once more, he opened his eyes completely and saw a red mist leave his body and above him it dissipated like cold breath on winters day.

"What **was** that?" Danny asked, his voice now returning along with a sense of weakness as he felt the purple static bolts leave him too.

"**That** is what happens when you work with me, and not against me, Daniel," Vlad smirked and removed his gloved hand from the boy's shoulder as the remains of his energy left Danny's body. He didn't exactly have it to spare but it was necessary and he was not exactly going to collapse from exhaustion, as Vlad was well capable of pacing himself.

Danny was now able to focus on the damage his ice powers had caused and noticed that Vlad's feet and lower legs were frozen to the now floating chunk of icy rock. The whole thing was ice solid and there was still a little snow falling, "…Oops…" Danny muttered a little sheepishly, he hadn't realised that by letting his control slip that he'd frozen so much so quickly.

"Hmm," Vlad agreed and aimed two small ecto-blasts from his eyes at his feet. The ice shattered instantly and he was once more able to feel his toes again…hyperthermia was not a pleasant sensation. He watched as Danny pushed himself up onto his knees as his hands seemed to protect his stomach and his eyes lowered.

"Change back for a minute," Vlad ordered and was met with a curious look from the boy. But clearly Daniel understood him as he complied a second later.

Vlad knelt beside Danny and observed as the boy lifted his shirt to reveal the ugly black scab. To his dismay he saw it had grown and now resembled a spider's web with jagged spikes and tear-shaped points that stubbornly gripped at the boys pale flesh.

"How bad is it?" Danny asked, he really didn't want to see, he didn't want to know. He was sure he had felt it crawl over him and he was sure it had got bigger.

"Well…" Vlad began but he wasn't sure how to answer. Should he be blunt…Daniel wasn't stupid and Vlad didn't really want to sugar-coat anything for the boy…however he found that he didn't have to as Danny was able to see for himself.

"…Great…" the boy sighed and instantly transformed back into his ghost half, "Just great…" Danny shakily stood up and turned his gaze to see if the coast was clear. He was half expecting something else to come out of thin air and attack them…it wouldn't be the first time.

Vlad moved carefully on the rock, careful not to slip on the ice however he noticed that Daniel had no problem as, even on week legs the boy never slipped. He was about to suggest that Danny grab his arm so that he could teleport them quickly back to the _Spectre Speeder _and continue their search but something caught his attention.

The older hybrid could sense something of considerable power and magnitude heading towards them, and a glance at Daniel's confused and concerned expression told him that he was not the only one.

Vlad strained his eyes and with his enhanced ghostly senses this allowed him to see clearly for miles, but in this instance it did not help him. He could make out a blur…that was all, and it was not exactly helpful. It wasn't the same as the mass swarm they had just fought but he became frustrated when he could not distinguish whether it was friend or foe. Daniel was in no position to fight if every time he was hit it had the same effect and Vlad was not in the best condition either.

Vlad's analysis; …no idea of the enemy…so no plan…not goods odds…time for another tactical retreat…

These retreats were not making the man any happier; he wanted to fight, but he didn't want to start a battle he couldn't win, the war was more important, so he would have to withdraw…for now. "Let's go, bird-boy," he muttered and seized Danny's forearm in a vice-like grip.

The two half ghosts vanished in a cloud of pink smoke as Vlad curled his cape around them and before the boy could even protest he found himself staring at the _Spectre Speeder_ once more rather than a frozen rock.

Danny felt his head spin slightly and he wasn't sure whether it was from exhaustion or Vlad's teleport…He always hated it when the older man did that because he still had no idea how to go about learning it and it annoyed him all the time! "Any idea what it was?" he asked as the two of them momentarily transformed to bypass Vlad's still glowing shield.

"No," Vlad snapped, perhaps his tone was a little harsh but the whole state of affairs had him on edge and not knowing things like this was not good for his mental state. It would drive him crazy!

"…okay…" Danny mumbled and held up his palms in a defensive position, the dude really needed to chill! He was a little taken aback by the older hybrid's irritable, short-tempered reply…but since when had he had any other treatment from Vlad? Had he gotten used the man being 'nice' to him so quickly and forgotten what he was really like? It confused Danny that he and Vlad were supposed to be on the same side for once and he would be glad when it was all over…right?

With a sigh Danny watched as Vlad looked into the small mirror once more and then drove the vehicle out of the cave. Vlad was constantly alert, he really didn't want to run into whatever it was he had sensed earlier, with no sensible way of determining whether they were friend or foe it would be foolish to risk another fight. So he tried his best to avoid it.

He felt bad for snapping at Daniel but there were more important things to worry about right now, and the boy would get over it…so why did it nag at his mind so much? Whatever the reason he ignored it as best as he could and accelerated the vehicle, they would need speed on their side if they were to be successful.

But once more his ghostly senses would give him no peace as he felt that strong presence gaining at the precipice of his mind. It was fast…too fast, and whatever it was it was not giving up. It was not the same as the spirits they had just fought but it was strong and fast and not something he wanted to take his chances against in his present condition.

But as usual it seemed mistress fate had other idea for the hybrids as they both sensed the increasing presence. It was a shiver down the spine and the covert eyes watching your back, it was the thing from the corner of your eye that was dismissed in the dark or the nightmare from under your bed…It was not a pleasant feeling.

The _Speeder_ had emerged from the cave and was well on its way to its shadowy destination when all of a sudden it came to a halt in mid-air. Danny and Vlad were jolted in their seats and felt their necks snap back from the whiplash of going from over 100 mph to zero in less than 5 seconds. The whole thing was shut down and even the lights went out as the vehicle waited motionlessly in shadow.

"Vlad…" Danny whispered; he was unsure of why he kept his voice so quiet. But it was like those times when you tell ghost stories in the dark…the atmosphere commanded silence, and Danny couldn't bring himself to break it completely.

The vehicle was suspended where it floated and with narrowed eyes both hybrids scanned the area for any moving thing.

They didn't have to wait long and the two hybrids watched as twelve impressively cloaked figures quickly descended on them and surrounded the _Spectre Speeder_. Ornate purple cloaks, skeletal green hands, and piercing red eyes were all the features of these creatures that could be seen. Their bodies were hidden beneath their cloaks and their faces covered by their cowls but each one held a glowing staff in their hands...it seemed somehow familiar, but neither hybrid had time to dwell on it.

Danny couldn't take his gaze from those red eyes; they were hypnotic in the major sense of the word and there was one that returned his stare. It was right in front of him and unfortunately, Danny didn't fancy his chances at success in even a glaring contest let alone a fight. He could see the beings aura and it did not look friendly, but he couldn't switch it off…somewhere along the line it had come on and now it wouldn't go away. It was like his power wasn't his own anymore and it was determined to drive him mad.

In the past he had toyed with the idea of naming it something like _aura-wareness_, and had often wondered if Vlad could do anything similar…but he couldn't exactly just ask him. It would be nuts to even try and he didn't want to give the impression that he wanted to learn from Vlad…did he or didn't he? He wasn't so sure, but he seriously wished that he was.

Danny wasn't sure whether he should look away from the thing outside but he kept its gaze, if he looked away it might attack them…

Vlad's mind was working a mile a minute as he tried to figure out who, or what these new creatures were. He remembered where he had seen their glowing golden staffs before…it had been in the hand of the Calidae but his had been black. It still didn't make the mystery of who these beings were any clearer. He had never seen such creatures before, he knew they were powerful Spirits from the way his ghost sense confused him but who were they? Surely they were not…but what else could they be?

He remembered reading a passage in his book…the only piece of written information the tome would give him about its creators…it hadn't described their appearance in any way but it had told legend of twelve different Ancients. And there were twelve cloaked beings surrounding them. Was it possible? It had to be. These were the Decuriones?

According to his readings these had been the ones responsible for moving the Ancients 'underground,' so to speak. They had kept hidden a mighty Spirit civilisation which rarely intervened or interfered in anything or anyone unless everything else had failed beforehand. But they seemed to take an active role now, they had followed him and Daniel, clearly they were not the passive, indifferent beings he had originally thought.

Now that he knew their identity he was fairly certain they would not attack him, after all he had done them no injury. So he decided to take his chances and switched off the shield…their only protection and Vlad had just removed it willingly.

Danny stared at him in disbelief as the man laid the now useless device on the dashboard and turned his red eyes back towards the creatures outside. "What're you doing?" he demanded in anger now officially breaking his staring contest as he watched the glowing shield vanish completely.

"I don't believe they're here for a fight, Daniel," Vlad replied calmly, a stark contrast to the rage and frustration in the child's voice.

"So what are they here for, a friendly chat?" Danny shouted once more, but Vlad only rolled his eyes as he intangibly exited the vehicle, able to remain in his ghost form Plasmius stood atop the roof of the Spectre Speeder amidst the twelve Spirits.

The young half ghost, still none-the-wiser about what was out there sighed but figured if there was going to be a 'friendly chat' he may as well add in his two-cents…and of course make sure people knew how pissed off he was about things. He followed Vlad's lead and came to stand beside him on top of the stationary vehicle.

"I believe you have been searching for us," one of the cloaked figures spoke, "I am Desponius, High Consul of the Decuriones; Senate to the Ancients, and you are Vladimir Masters and Daniel Fenton, correct?"

"Correct," Vlad replied before Danny could say anything and turned his gaze towards the speaker. Red eyes on red.

The cloaked figure seemed to nod once and the other Decuriones next to him parted to make way for the hybrids to pass. "Follow us," Desponius said simply and then they began to fly away.

Danny and Vlad exchanged a calculating glance and Vlad inclined for them to re-enter the Spectre Speeder, he lead the way and Danny followed.

Vlad figured that only by following them would he get his answers, it was probably best not to antagonise them before he discovered where they lived, so he was constantly memorising the landmarks they passed.

Danny blinked as the vehicle began to move and Vlad kept the flying purple figures in sight, "Hey, V-man, what's a Decuriones?" the ghost boy asked with a frown on his face.

Vlad sighed once more and rolled his eyes at the boy's confusion, didn't he ever listen? "Daniel, Decuriones is plural, meaning all twelve of them, a Decurio is one of them; they are the Senate of the Ancients…a kind of government of Spirits," Vlad answered and watched Danny's rapt expression turn from confusion to realisation as he made an 'o' shape with his mouth.

"So…why'd they come lookin' for us?" Danny asked as Vlad turned his attention back to watching the passing rocks and caves.

"I honestly couldn't say," the man replied as they suddenly made a sharp turn to the right.

"Oh," Danny muttered and noticing the failing attempt at conversation he copied Vlad and began staring out of the window. It was easier to focus now on the Ghost Zone without wanting to run a mile…but it still wasn't quite right.

After about 10 minutes the twelve beings had lead them to a stone gateway that looked brand new, as if it had been carved just seconds ago by Renaissance masters. Its stone pillars on either side which were covered with Latin letters in every angle were impressive and they glowed beautifully.

Sandwiched between the pillars were double wooden doors but they looked far stronger than ordinary wood. It was silver and white and like the pillars it emitted a dim glow of shimmering light.

The beings came to a halt before the doorway and each one held up their staff; their light intensified and with a quiet creaking sound the doors began to open revealing a circular purple portal like any other within the Zone. They then entered the portal and Vlad drove the vehicle forwards.

The first thing that Danny and Vlad saw was light; beautiful silver and white light overwhelmed their senses and they were forced to turn away to protect their sensitive eyes.

After gradually adjusting they saw that the cloaked beings had lead them through the portal and into a forest. Danny blinked in confusion…he'd never seen anything like this before!

There were thousands of trees which were silver and each one let off a small glow of light, so the whole forest was like a beacon…it was a wonder that he had never seen it. The deeper they went into the forest the brighter the trees became, like shining silver birch trees they were tall and narrow, but the leaves were striking. Some were burnt umber and orange, some were green or brown or grey, and they were shaped like tear drops and some flew in an invisible breeze onto the windscreen and past the _Speeder_.

Vlad was staring in awe; this was truly one of the most beautiful and unbelievable places he had ever seen, and he had seen a lot. He had travelled to the far flung corners of the earth and marvelled at their hidden beauty, he had been into outer space and seen the earth, moon and sun from above but never had he seen a forest like this.

Even the grass was a curious shade of dark silver and the trees seemed to hum quietly as they passed. Vlad decided that he had had enough of gazing at it through glass, and quickly he brought the vehicle to a stop. Thinking fast he pocketed the ghost shield device and the mirror, and made sure his sword was secured to his belt then he flew through it and continued to fly behind the Ancients.

Danny was forced to follow and was left to wonder what had made Vlad abandon his invention like that. But it didn't matter to him, he wanted to get out there and touch those weird trees and as he flew quickly to catch up he looked up into the air. It was still the same swirling green but here there were clouds, normal looking white and grey clouds…it was a really strange contrast.

The collection of hybrids and Spirits were flying at increasing speeds and were now coming to the edge of the forest and stopped as the ground ended…

The trees came to a stop and Danny saw that it was all on a floating rock like the others from the Zone…only bigger. Now that he could see without trees hampering his view his jaw dropped dumbly as he stared open-mouthed down at what they saw.

There were thousands of flying creatures, each one wore a plain purple cloak and unlike the twelve beside them did not carry a staff. They were circling the strangest, most unusual and beautiful civilisation Vlad had ever seen in all his years of travel.

Silver spires and steeples, weathered aged buildings and flawless new side by side, bridges of every shape and size made of stone, brick, metal, glass and numerous other extraordinary looking materials created a clustered image of grandeur and magnificence. An untraceable light was reflected from the shining buildings which towered over the lower city and made it look ostentatious and rich. **(*2)**

"Welcome to the Municium," Desponius said with humour in his deep voice and then the twelve Ancients began the descent into the city with the silent hybrids beside them.

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><p><strong>(*1)<strong> If you don't remember what the Ecto-Tornado thingy is it's at the end of 'An Eye For An Eye,' and it's really cool! Expect to read more of it! And no, I didn't remember either till I read it on Wiki and re-watched the episode? I thought about calling it an Ecto-nado…or Ec-tornado…but then I thought I might confuse people…what d'ya think? Should I change it?

**(*2) **WOW! I had real fun with this one. I hope I gave a good description…the idea was that you go through the portal and into the silver forest, not sure about a name yet…then when the forest ends you look down and the city is floating on more rocks with the silver spires and floating Ancients all round. Fun, huh?


	16. Treacherous Moments of Anagnorisis

A.N. Okay, before you read this chapter I wanted to post something about how the society of the Ancients works, you don't necessarily have to read it, I just wanted to work myself through it. Now, as I am a total history buff I chose to model it on a Roman hierarchal senate. Cool, huh?

So basically the twelve Ancients that make up the Senate are called _**Decuriones**_and at the top of the pecking order we have the _**High Consul:**_whom I have named **Desponius**, I made up the title but they did have Consuls. The original Roman name for this was the Pontifex Maximus (this was not going to happen in my story, I would just laugh my head off!) or the ranking Augur, but I wanted to add my own flair to it. In Roman times it was his job to determine the approval of the gods but in my story he is like the top dog, so to speak, he listens to the others and makes decisions accordingly, but he cannot force the Senate to do whatever he wants, he needs their majority support.

Then we have the, _**Praetor:**_**Simacus**and the _**Aedile:**_**Saturnalicus** I didn't really change anything about the original job descriptions. They were kind of like magistrates and they decided questions bought before a court of justice. In my story they are like the _**High Consul's**_ right and left hand, good and bad angels or whatever you wanna call 'em.

Originally the_**Quaestor:**_** Veridius** was responsible for the finances of the Senate but in my world he is mainly responsible for overseeing the well-being of the Municium and the safety of the other Ancients. In my story all three of the above, so the _**Praetor:**_**Simacus**, the _**Aedile:**_**Saturnalicus**, and the _**Quaestor**__,_ have the power to VETO a decision in the Senate. That means, if you didn't know, that they can choose to stop a particular decision or particular actions from happening.

The remaining 8 are_**Senators**_ who simply listen to, and then vote on decision from the Spirits listed above. Their names are not as important but they are: **Allaricus, Seneca,**** Livinus, ****Otho, ****Avitus, Aelianus, Porphyrius,** and **Ovidius.** If a decision goes through them and is passed the _**Praetor**_, the _**Aedile**_, and the _**Quaestor**_ caninfluence it or change it as they like, and the _**High Consul**_ listens to the evidence and makes his decisions.

After the Senate we have the thousands of 'normal' Spirits that make up the population, they, I suppose, 'elect' the Senate and get on with things.

There, I explained all the fruit-loopyness that goes on in my warped mind! Now that it's out of the way…anyone who took the time to read it, well done, and a virtual cookie to you! Anyone who didn't, oh well, I don't mind because I will have to explain it in layman's terms later on in the story, so here's the next chapter!

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><p><strong>What Unusual halflives we lead<strong>

Chapter 16: Treacherous Moments of Anagnorisis

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><p>Vlad and Danny followed silently behind the Decuriones as they flew through the Municium passing a myriad of other Ancients whose red eyes continued to follow the hybrids eerily. Danny felt like he was on display as he was observed by a thousand eyes all at once. It was not a good feeling. Especially since his ghost sense seemed confused, it would go off one minute then stop and go off again, it was making him uncomfortable because it kept setting him on edge.<p>

Vlad seemed no better than him, as his own red eyes were flicking back and forth in every direction, he was trying to make a mental-map of the city in case things took a bad turn for them, but he was not having much luck. There was too much to look at, too many strange buildings to remember, too many small alleyways and off-shooting streets, it was impossible to remember all of this!

They turned onto a street wider than the others, it was lined on either side with buildings of varied sizes and shapes and overhead the bright golden stars shone and pulsed with light. At the end of the thoroughfare was an impressive Roman building in classical style with a dozen shining marble steps and huge towering pillars of stone carved with intricate spiralling patterns. Atop the pillars was a stone triangular roof with the word; _'Veteres'_ proclaimed proudly in the middle.

"This is the Basilica, it is our Senate House," Desponius stated as the group hovered above the steps and through under the shadowed pillars.

Once inside the building only increased in grandeur and the hybrids were led deeper into unknown territory and into a huge circular room with a towering vaulted dome. It was lined with archways on all sides and encircling seats made of the same silver wood from the forest surrounded an empty space with a set of small steps that lead up to a plinth of silver stone for a single speaker to stand.

"Please…sit," the Ancient said, he seemed to be their leader and since the hybrids had little choice they sat on the front row a little apart from each other.

Eleven of the cloaked Spirits also took their seats separate from the hybrids on the far right as Desponius stared down at Danny and Vlad.

"I do not wish to bore you, I will simply state to you the facts that have brought you here to us," the Spirit said in an echoing voice which demanded respect; however it didn't stop Danny scoffing a little. "We are the Decuriones and we are responsible for our civilisation, my brothers…" the Spirits' green hand indicated the others as he proclaimed their names, "Simacus, Saturnalicus, Veridius, Allaricus, Seneca, Livinus, Otho, Avitus, Aelianus, Porphyrius, and Ovidius," each one gave a proud nod at its name.

The Ancients pompous manner and confidence reminded Danny of Vlad; he seemed to expect everyone to listen to him as soon as he opened his mouth as he hovered in the middle of the room. "10,000 years ago a _senatus consulta, _a decree, was passed and it was agreed that our civilisation would become separate from the Aliis Mundi…what you call the 'Ghost Zone.' It was becoming too reliant upon us…our influence and power," he said but another voice spoke before he could continue.

"The Ghosts were becoming too numerous," Simacus said as he floated up from his seat but he was shot down by a look from Desponius. Danny smirked; clearly someone didn't like not being in charge.

"…As such we chose to separate from the Ghosts. It had become clear to us that our two species could not co-exist," he continued and hovered around the room, "By we had caused this world to be created we made a grave error, but we could not undo what had been done,"

"You created the Ghost Zone?" Vlad asked with a raised black eyebrow and sceptical tone.

"Regrettably, yes," the creature nodded, "What you have to understand, hybrids, is that we are far older than Ghosts, we existed before humans and once Ghosts emerged it became painfully clear that humans and Ghosts could not inhabit the same plane of existence as both increased. Subsequently, Spirits felt that they would be driven out and a war was fought between Ghosts and Spirits.

We knew little of Ghosts at the time, but we had grown increasing concerned about their desire to remain on earth. But we soon learnt that they were the direct opposite of us. Once our corresponding energies met a hole was torn in the very fabric of reality, it would have destroyed the whole of creation. And so, we forged the energy into what you now see before you, we decreed that the two energies never be merged in such quantities again, and we, as the fathers of all Spirits we were responsible for our failures."

"Huh?" Danny questioned intelligently, he hadn't meant to speak out loud but he soon felt like running to hide under his bed when all the red eyes turned to him, "I…err…I mean…err…why d'you call it a failure?" Danny had always loved the Ghost Zone; he couldn't imagine his life without it.

"It is impeccably stable now, but once the Ectoplasm of the Ghosts met our Equaplasym it was cataclysmic, I don't expect you to comprehend the dangers we could have created from that war. We persist in our isolation because it is best for all concerned, but there was one of us that did not, all together see it in that light." He replied in a deepening tone.

"The Calidae?" Vlad guessed and turned his attention to the Spirit.

"It is not 'the' Calidae, his name **is **Calidae and he was a Decurio, he was one of our brothers," Saturnalicus replied rather defensively.

"Was?" Danny repeated.

"He wanted us to fight the ghosts once more, he had been demanding it for eons; he wanted each and every one destroyed and banished from the Ghost Zone. Calidae saw it as ours by right and that we were the natural rulers of it and of the human world," Desponius recounted.

"He was foolish," Seneca swore under his breath and a few other Ancients sitting beside him murmured in approval.

"I refused; I told him that if we fought another war we might not be so lucky. Over the years of our dispute the Ghosts had only increased and the Senate declined his proposals. Subsequently he was stripped of his staff and cloak to live in shame in the shadow of the Municium. He soon returned and had claimed that he had located the power necessary for our rise to power, from where I still do not know, but once more I declined him. We are not a council of war, we are meant to keep the peace; but Calidae never understood that."

"A mere Senator," Simacus swore and Saturnalicus beside him, nodded.

"We were left with no choice," Desponius spoke again, "before he could obtain this power we defeated him and others he had convinced to follow him and they were locked deep within the Municium's vaults."

"You just…locked it up?" Danny said, shocked, no wonder the thing was so pissed.

"Yes," Desponius replied emotionlessly, "We cannot destroy our own, it is forbidden, the Senators voted, the Consuls agreed…and it was done," he waved a skeletal hand dismissively, "We had hoped to persuade him to divulge the location of this power so that we could destroy it, but he did not. Once his sentence was completed, and before we could act he had left the city. I have been most anxious that something be done about it…"

"Calidae is not our problem, Desponius," Simacus said, "We are not executioners, our job is finished,"

"Not to be rude or anything, dudes," Danny chuckled sardonically then became serious, "but that thing nearly killed my family! They're in hospital, okay…the freaking hospital! All because your 'brother'," he quoted in the air with his gloved fingers, "is some power crazy moron, he's **your **problem! How the hell could you let that thing loose?"

Vlad tried to repress a smirk, he had to value Danny's bravery at times, and talking to the powerful Spirits like that was either very stupid, or very brave…or both.

"Then you will have to stop him…defend yourself, boy," Simacus replied.

"I tried!" Danny shouted and stood from his seat angrily, couldn't these things see that he was powerless against that thing? "It's too powerful!"

"As much as I admire your…active attitude towards this problem," Vlad began; he didn't want Danny to offend them however funny it would be, if he needed to rely on them for help it would be best to act tactfully. "I don't think you understand the problem," he told the Spirits, "I myself have tried to fight this monster and I, regrettably, was fortunate to escape with my life."

"That is not my problem," Simacus replied emotionlessly.

"Surely allies are important to a peace loving council," Vlad shot back also standing up; this was one very irritating Spirit!

"We do not require allies," came the terse reply.

"Enough," Desponius shouted loudly and the Spirits fell silent, "Vladimir Masters, I will excuse your conduct, however, Daniel Fenton, I do not excuse your manner towards another Decurio, notwithstanding the fact that he is banished…"

"But it…" Danny began and pointed at the talking Spirit.

"Silence!" Desponius shouted and Danny blinked as he forced himself to remain standing, if he didn't he would lose face. "Furthermore, I also disapprove of your conduct; you will show the proper respect towards all within these hallowed walls."

"Not likely, dude," Danny whispered and crossed his arms. Vlad didn't know if he should laugh or cry; the boy really did not understand how to be diplomatic if his life depended on it...which it did!

The Spirit lifted his staff and instantly a blast made of golden flames shot towards Danny, and before either of the hybrids could do anything, the boy was thrown into the hard seats with an echoing 'thud.' Vlad winced at the bone shattering sound as he could only watch the flames stop.

"Justice is swift," Simacus chuckled, clearly approving of Desponius' actions and the others murmured their agreement.

Vlad acted instantly once the fames had vanished for good and he flew quickly over to the fallen child. Danny had landed uncomfortably against a hard surface and he moaned as he tried to right himself, "Oww…."

Vlad helped pull him up and Danny glared at the Spirit that had attacked him, "No, Daniel, don't," Vlad whispered as he saw the boys eyes flash icy-blue. Danny sighed and shrugged Vlad's hand from his shoulder; he really, really wanted to fight back.

"Why is it so interested in us?" Vlad asked, hoping to prevent another attack.

"Calidae wants to rule over both worlds, he sees you as abominations because you belong in both and yet you belong don't fully belong in either, he wants his world to be perfect and he does not see you as perfect," Desponius answered simply.

"That's it?" Danny demanded, "Just because we're half ghost he wants to kill us?"

"Yes, that is all," the Spirit nodded.

"And what do you think?" Vlad asked.

"I have seen many creatures evolve over the ages, the idea of hybrids id nothing new to me; however it had not been done until you, Vladimir. As such we had many conversations about you, and then Daniel, the second human-ghost hybrid the world has seen, it makes me curious to wonder if there will follow more like you,"

"That's not what I asked," Vlad sighed, and Desponius nodded.

"I know, but it is not my place to say what I think of you. I have not asked you what you think of me, I have done nothing to you, or to threaten you, but I am indifferent. We do not act to shape the world; nature takes its own course,"

"Nature!" Vlad repeated with hate and malice in his voice as he recalled his accident…it had been anything but natural…but it went ignored.

"But I will not help nor will I hinder Calidae,"

"By doing nothing you **are **helping him," Vlad replied angrily, "Can't you see that?"

"The _Speculi-Charta, _I allowed you to find it and now it should be returned," the Spirit held out his hand expectantly.

Vlad had little choice; he was outnumbered and outmatched, so for the moment he would need to give up the valuable artefact…he would return for it. He was a patient man…he could wait. So he reached into his pocket and forcefully slammed the mirror into the green hands of the creature. "The book I will allow you to keep, it was written in order for us to learn its knowledge, and we have learnt it so it is useless to us now. You may go now,"

Vlad glared angrily at the Spirit; he was not a powerless child or a dog that was easily dismissed like that! How dare this being dismiss him…**him**…Vlad Plasmius!

"This is your last warning, hybrids; leave now," Desponius said, his red eyes shining with anger under his cowl.

Vlad only stared back at the Spirit; he had to admit he was slightly disappointed at the attitudes these creatures displayed. He had believed that the Ancients were intelligent, benign beings…and he had found only egotistical, self-absorbed creatures that had clearly been in isolation for too long. He was extremely disappointed, and just as he was about to attack the Spirit something in his mind told him not to…a voice…

_**-Please Vladimir…I beseech you…leave now…there is far more at stake than you realise, you will both be in grave danger if you linger here- **_

Vlad heard the Spirit's voice speak inside his head, he glanced at Daniel and was slightly curious when he noticed that they boy was still glaring at the Spirit. Clearly he had not heard it as Vlad had. But what should he do now? What was at stake? Why had it spoken inside his head and not aloud? In short; **what was going on**?

"Very well," he growled in a mix of confusion and lingering anger.

Danny stared up at the man in shock; they had come all this way to find help and they had got none…and now Vlad was going to leave…just like that? Where was the stubborn, fruit-loopy Vlad who'd just kick their butts for talking to him like that?

"Ovidius will guide you through the Municium. Goodbye," with that said the eleven Spirits vanished in a puff of golden mist leaving only one.

"This way," Ovidius said and flew away at a fast speed. The two irritated hybrids followed him and exchanged a look of understanding. It confused both of them to some degree; they had never really come to any understanding about anything before and it took a life threatening situation for them to even begin to remotely comprehend one another. However they both silently agreed that they disliked the Spirits and that they should not have wasted their time in coming in the Zone in the first place. Now they were right back to square one.

Soon they were clear of the city and they were flying up to the overlooking forest again, the strange silver, shimmering forest. Vlad felt tempted the question their guide about the forest, but he was not inclined to speak to the infuriating Spirit, he kept quiet, now was not the time for education.

Once they reached the stationary_ Spectre Speeder_ and the ostentatious portal it became clear that there was someone waiting there. It was another shrouded figure with a patterned purple cloak and a staff hovering alone behind the trees.

Danny turned to look at Vlad and they both shared a similar look of confusion and expectation, "Well done, Ovidius," the being said, "now please, leave us, quickly…the Senate…you know what to do."

"Yes, sire," Ovidius bowed slightly and disappeared instantly.

Vlad recognised the deep tone of voice, but he didn't understand what was happening, what the hell was going on? "Care to explain yourself, _High Consul_? The voice in my head?" he sarcastically stressed each syllable of the Spirit's title and ignored Danny's look of confusion.

"Yes, it was me; I could not speak aloud to my brothers but I required a moment of privacy to speak with you, away from the eyes of the Senate. If you had provoked a fight we would have been forced to kill you, and that is of no benefit to me. Ovidius is my trusted friend and one of the few within the Senate who support my view."

"What?" Danny exclaimed, now he was really confused…and that was happening too much for his liking.

"The Senate is ruled by its laws, the majority disagreed with me, I could not ask you or tell you anything which would compromise me,"

"Huh?"

"Don't you understand, boy?" the Spirit hissed, "I do not control the Senate, I cannot force them to act for me. The majority voted against my wishes and as such I cannot act through them. I failed to convince them of my perspectives and I acted accordingly in the Basilica, but even if it means my own banishment Calidae must be stopped."

Danny could only blink in confusion after the Spirit had finished speaking…it wanted to help them? It hadn't meant what it had said?

"So, what do you expect us to do?" Vlad demanded and crossed his arms.

"I have already taken certain steps in order to track Calidae in your world, but if he begins to have even the slightest suspicions that I am behind them, then he will use it to gain control of the Senate. I cannot allow that to happen. He has always desired my removal and such a justified accusation would give him the authority over the other Decuriones that would allow him to destroy me. However, once I have completed my task that will be of little importance to me.

The decadence of my civilisation has allowed him his freedom…a freedom which I attempted to deny him, and as such we three remain his main targets. I cannot see his mind but for some reason he allowed you to live long enough for us to locate you, I suspect he expected us to turn you away, and that is what I did…I suspect that among my Senate there lies a traitor, but I have not the means to be sure…so…I propose an alliance,"

"A covert alliance, I assume?" Vlad smirked and Desponius nodded.

Vlad was beginning to understand the dangers of the political game that this creature was playing. Desponius was caught between a rock and a hard place. He was trying to keep order in the Senate, and make sure that he displayed the correct attitude to the Ancients that they expected, whilst trying to keep track of Calidae's progress. Vlad's respect suddenly shot up for Desponius especially since his life depended upon success as well. "And what would this alliance entail?" he asked.

"Well, firstly, I ensure your safe passage back to your world; I doubt that Calidae will allow you much longer to live if you risk crossing the _Aliis Mundi_ twice. Secondly I would be in a position to provide you with effective weapons which would allow you to defend yourselves more competently against the enemy should you meet again. On your part I would ask that you do not act without informing me, and I will not do so either; allies cannot succeed if they are divided against their enemy. Take this back with you," Desponius handed the mirror back to Vlad who took it and pocketed it once more, "it will allow you to communicate with me. Are we agreed?"

Vlad ran through the terms in his mind, perhaps this creature was intelligent after all, it was clever enough to deceive him and that was no easy task. It was brave enough to risk his own life against his own species and his enemy…a battle on two fronts was a risky move.

"I have little choice," Vlad replied, a hint of ironic amusement in his voice.

"And lastly I…I was not entirely truthful with you," it was the first time Vlad had heard the Spirit falter in his speech, and it gave a disconcerting feeling.

"About?" Vlad questioned.

"You asked me why Calidae is 'so interested in you,' and I gave the answer that my brothers expected to hear. However it was not entirely true, while he does want you dead it is not because of his æsthetics. When we imprisoned him some of his powers were stolen, we took them as collateral, but the two of you are unique, your combined powers would give him strength, possibly enough to regain what we took."

"You mean he's not at full power?" Danny moaned; this was very not good!

"Not quite, but he has a means of doing so, and I believe it is already working on one of you. He possesses a power which enables him to steal a Ghost's or a Spirit's life force, it is supposed to work instantly, but because you have a human half you have a little resistance which is allowing you to live," Desponius' red eyes inflamed and turned on Danny and the boy took a step back.

"What's with the eyes, dude?" Danny muttered and held up his hands ready to defend himself.

"He attacked you didn't he, Daniel Fenton? It is you who is wounded, it is why you feel weakened, it may be taking Calidae longer to take your power from you but it is working, and soon he will take your ghost half and kill you as a human."

"Anytime you wanna make me feel better let me know…" Danny replied quietly and his hand moved unconsciously to said wound.

"I found a weakness; my electrical energy seems to calm it," Vlad began.

"Yes, as a Spirit we are all weak to electricity, it is a product of nature that has been tamed by man, it is no longer a natural element that we can control. We have grown weaker over the centuries. It will not stop him from taking your powers, but it will slow it down a little, there is nothing I can do about it, but I advise you to act quickly." His shadowed head turned and surveyed the forest around them.

"I was here when this forest was planted, you know, I was merely a Senator at the time, it was so many years ago now, and yet it seems to have fared better than I have. We call it the _Nemorum et Nitido_,the woodland that glistens, a fitting name, don't you agree?" the Spirit reached out his left hand and tore a branch from the nearest tree and it began to glow gold as did his staff. "In light of our agreement it is only right that I give you the means to protect yourselves, and against Spirits such as Calidae there is but one defence. Your ghost powers have little effect because he is of a defend magnitude altogether, even combined you would most probably be defeated. A Spirit can only be defeated by another Spirit, but it forbidden to do so…you however…are not Spirits…"

The branch slowly formed into a staff identical to his own; the silver wood became dark and there appeared a golden orb at the top. "I must first ask you to take caution, if any other Spirits were to see you with these any Decurio would be suspected; only we can forge them. I do not want suspicion to fall on us, at least not yet, once Calidae is defeated all can be revealed." He gave the first to Vlad, repeated the process and gave it to Danny.

"You cannot imagine how weary I am now; we have been isolated for so long now and I feel that it has had more detrimental effects than we imagined…perhaps you, Vladimir understand this better than your young counterpart," Danny felt that this was an opportune moment to inform them that he was still here but the sad, distant look on Vlad's pale face stopped him from doing so. Since when did Vlad look so…old? He knew that Vlad was his parents' age…that didn't make him old, old…but he wasn't exactly young either. "I believe that had we met under different circumstances we could have been respected associates, you and I are far more world-weary than we lead others to believe, aren't we? And perhaps once this is finished…I will be able to rest."

Once Danny coughed lightly it seemed to bring the Spirit out of his reverie and he sighed quietly, "I would not advise you returning to your home, it will be the first place Calidae will look for you, you need to strategize. Even with an effective weapon it would not be wise to face him directly, he is intelligent and cunning. You will need to be at your best, and you will need to outwit him. There is only so much I can help you with, I can direct a portal to take you somewhere safe but you must choose the location," Desponius said.

Vlad thought hard about where would be safest, definitely not Amity, Daniel would most likely want to return to visit his family, but Vlad was trying to look after their own well-being. His Wisconsin castle was well equipped, but would it be wise to go there, it was hardly the most inconspicuous of hiding places. Then he thought of his chalet in the Rocky Mountains; it was well concealed and could only be found if you knew what you were looking for. Perhaps it would suffice. "I have a chalet, in the Rocky Mountain range, I suppose it will have to do," he spoke and the Spirit nodded.

Desponius' staff began to glow once more and a glowing green portal emerged in front of them, "Now I'm afraid you are on your own, and before you act please remember the mirror…good luck…"

Vlad floated into the _Spectre Speeder_ and started the engine once more, once Danny was in the seat beside him he accelerated the vehicle forwards and they went through the portal.

Desponius blinked his red eyes as he glanced around the shadows that had consumed the usually bright forest. His time was running out…

* * *

><p>The darkness coiled around the sinuous tail of the being. Black fire and shadows shimmered and a deep growling echoed from a curved, stone hollow.<p>

Soon…soon…soon…It was the only word that ran through its mind, the hybrids had escaped, but they would not win. This was **his **war, and **he **would win. Nothing was going to stop him, he had waited eons for his victory and so he had planned for every obstacle that he could possibly face. He knew what to do about the hybrids…they would be his means for success.

He would take their power and use their new, unique energies to become the master of existence. Despite all of his planning he had not expected there to ever be hybrids; ghosts and humans. He smirked and let out a grim chuckle. They were his key, the link between the 'human world' and the 'other world,' and once he was finished with them **he** would have that connection.

He would win, and nothing would stand in his way.

.

.

.

* * *

><p>A.N. I checked through this a few times but I was getting bored of it so if there's any problems please let me know!<p>

I really like Desponius far more than the other Spirits, he's more…I can't really say human…but he's more intelligent than the others. I like to think of the other Decuriones as normal politicians…so they're really annoying, irritating gits that lie and never shut up. Lol I have never been a fan of politicians, they shit on regular people and they don't live in the real world! Anyway, I guess Desponius is a super-politician and hopefully I won't have to kill him off at the end! I know he talks a lot but I couldn't shorten it anymore, everything he says has a point. And yes, he gives an exposition…but who else was gonna do it?

**!Vivat Desponius!**


	17. Backup Plans with Explosive Views

A.N. Well, here I am, I know, I know, it's been a long, long time, and I'm sorry for the long break. But I lost interest in this, and guess what...it's back now. It's difficult to get back into the swing of writing chapters around 5,000 words in third person after so long of using first, and of course I had to spend a little time getting to grips with this story again, but now I have an ending all planned out!

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><p><strong>What Unusual halflives we Lead<strong>

Chapter 17: Backup Plans with Explosive Views

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><p>The <em>Spectre Speeder<em> flew out from the glowing portal and soared over the trees of the Rocky Mountain range which was in darkness. Vlad immediately began scanning his surroundings for his chalet and, more importantly, for any attempts at surprise attacks. He saw and heard nothing out of the ordinary and once he caught a glimpse of a chimney through the trees he steered the vehicle down and his eyes came to rest on his elaborate chalet; he'd never been so happy to see it in all his life.

"You...er...you don't still have all the creepy animal heads...do you?" Danny asked nervously and Vlad sighed.

He'd actually ordered the place to be completely remodelled a few months ago, and he still wasn't sure why. Vlad had just been using it for a weekly retreat and all of a sudden, the décor had repulsed him, and he'd demanded that it be removed and replaced. So now, instead of wooden and cosy, it was modern and open.

"Actually, I don't," Vlad said to Danny.

"Really?"

"Really," he raised an eyebrow and Danny scoffed.

"Why? I thought you liked 'em...not that I'm complaining or anything,"

"No reason," Vlad shrugged, "I felt like a change, is all."

"Huh," Danny frowned. Vlad was acting very...un-Vlad-like and it was slightly unnerving.

Vlad took out a set of keys and flew the _Speeder_ down to the chalet, then he waited as a large, garage door opened and he drove the vehicle through the doorway as it opened. He'd had the door wirelessly connected to the transmitter in his hand and he used the mechanism in all of his homes; one never knew when you'd need something like it.

Danny watched as they descended to the ground and he observed the modern, almost futuristic garage / lab type room in which they landed. It was a world of monochrome and was made of shining steel, or polished black surfaces or white counters; in a strange way it was quite beautiful. He slowly stepped out of the _Spectre Speeder_ when Vlad brought it to a halt and turned his head with wide eyes.

"Woah!" he whistled in awe. Each surface had something mechanical on it, or it had books or papers, there was just so much to look at; in that respect it was very like his parents lab...but that was as far as the similarities got; this was star of the art, his parents lab was make-do and outdated.

"Do you like it?" Vlad asked rhetorically, somehow managing to find the time to be amused even now. The older hybrid stepped out of the vehicle and he closed the door behind them, he then took up the two dark, wooden staves, determined not to let them out of his sight. He then turned back to the vehicle and worked on better concealing the the sword and the book in the back seat in case they needed a quick get away.

"Uh-huh..." Danny nodded dumbly; he could spend weeks down here in scientific experiments but he shook his head with a frown as the circumstances came back to him. He felt a gentle nudge on his back and Vlad started leading him through the chalet which was as modern and spotless as anything he'd ever seen.

And the main sitting room was stunning. Vlad remembered being very pleased with it when he'd first seen it. It had all been opened; the kitchen the sitting area and the dining area were all opened out into one huge space almost like an expensive apartment room. But there was no time for Danny to admire Vlad's décor.

The young half ghost blinked for a second as he watched Vlad put down the two staves and he blinked for a second. There was something important he needed to do. He scanned the room and quickly his eyes landed on a phone he could see resting on a table but then he frowned. "Hey...erm...could I...use the phone...er...please?" he asked an astounded Vlad who simply nodded. Danny snatched the cordless phone up and dialled quickly, a number he knew by heart and waited tentatively for her to pick up.

"Hello?" he heard a tired, wary voice ask.

"Sam...man, am I glad to hear your voice, it's Danny," he sighed in relief and spun around once, making Vlad raise an eyebrow. "No...wait a minute, my parents...and Jazz they're...oh...you know...well, how are they?" he asked and a second later he slouched against the wall, "Okay...okay, well...so long as they're..."

As Danny continued his conversation, Vlad stalked down to his lab and instantly began tinkering with his ghost shield generator. Quickly, a green shield sprung up around the house and he wired in his device to keep out spirits as well. It wouldn't last long if they came under attack since it was a rushed job, but it would buy them some time to escape if they needed it. But to be honest he was still rather caught up in the domesticated feel of Danny asking to use the phone when they were on the run from a power hungry monster hell-bent on killing them both. It was ridiculous, but after wanting the boy to live with him for so long, small things like this affected him more than they should.

Vlad winced when he stood from his work as his stomach groaned in protest; he hadn't eaten in far too long and even with a ghost half, he still needed food. So he walked back up to the kitchen and saw that Danny was still talking on the phone holding it with one hand, and twirling the wooden staff in the other.

"Uh-huh," the child nodded, "Well...it's...I can't really tell you right now...it'd take way too long, trust me, but I'm okay. I swear. Okay...I swear on...I swear on the solar system, that I'm fine. I'll even swear on the constellations if you want!"

Vlad chuckled quietly to himself as Danny raised the staff and pointed it at an invisible enemy an then preceded to twirl it round again. The older hybrid then turned his attention to the fridge and started to make himself, and Daniel some coffee.

In the background he could still hear Danny talking and he couldn't help but listen as the child said his name. "Yeah...erm...Vlad...yeah, Sam...about that he's erm...not dong anything...he's..." Danny said, "No, he's not! And, no, I can't tell you where I am...just trust me, it's better off you don't know."

Vlad then picked up the two mugs of coffee and walked across to Danny, then held out one to the child who frowned. His hands were full; his right with the phone and his left with the staff. So he awkwardly began balancing the phone in the crook of his neck and then out the staff down, then took the coffee with a grateful smile. Maybe Vlad wasn't the only one who'd come to rely on caffeine.

"Yeah...okay...bye..." Danny sighed and put down the phone.

"Well?" Vlad asked him with an expectant expression.

"Mom and Jazz are doing okay...dad got beat up the worst though..." the boy answered. "He'll probably be in there the longest." Danny added with a frown, "He'll get bored...and they probably won't let him eat fudge all the time...or invent stuff...or try and fix things...and I..."

"Daniel, I do believe that you should be more worried about yourself, at present," Vlad said, "It won't go after them since they're of no benefit to him, however we are."

"Yeah...you're just happy he's in hospital," Danny muttered automatically with his head down. However, a second later his head shot up and he winced, "Sorry," he added but Vlad just shook his head.

"Don't be, it is true after all," Vlad said after a minute and Danny sighed; talking to Vlad was like playing with a double edged sword; risky and prone to a bad ending.

"Okay, so...what now?" Danny shrugged as he held both hands around the steaming mug, trying to ignore Vlad's last statement.

"You're asking me?" Vlad asked incredulously. Daniel never asked his opinion on anything at all...ever.

"Well, you're the smart one, aren't you?" Danny demanded. If Vlad couldn't get them out of this, then they really were doomed.

"I'll probably never hear you say that again, will I?"

"Nope," Danny smirked, "But for a jerk you make good coffee...you haven't poisoned it...have you?" he asked in mock-horror; teasing Vlad was always fun.

"Fortunately for you, I haven't, although it was a good idea," Vlad replied. "You should..."

"Don't say 'consider tutoring'," Danny face-palmed.

"...I was going to say 'keep that in mind for next time'. Why would I say 'tutoring'?"

"Erm...long story...not telling..." Danny blinked quickly and sipped his coffee, suddenly finding the mug a source of great importance. "So, anyway...plan...plans are good. What's the plan? Do we even have a plan?" he asked to change the subject.

"Well, if we're lucky we could have a few hours of peace before it finds us again since we didn't go back through the Ghost Zone, so I suggest you sleep, and leave the 'plan' to me," Vlad replied.

"That's fine with me...but...when did you get any sleep?"

"I am perfectly fine. I'm not the one who's powers are being stolen."

"Ouch," Danny rolled his eyes in sarcasm, but nonetheless his hand traveled down to the growing black scab on his torso. He remembered the spirit Desponius telling him that because he was still half human, he had some immunity to Calidae's ability. "Hey, Vlad, you think if I use my powers less it'll take longer for it to steal 'em?"

"That would be the logical conclusion, yes."

"I guess that means no flying for me then," Danny sighed.

"I certainly wouldn't recommend it yet," Vlad added.

"Oh well," the young hybrid frowned and continued to drink his coffee. "Y'know...this place isn't so bad without all the creepy animal heads," he said later.

"You are more than welcome to visit your dear, old uncle anytime, Daniel," Vlad grinned.

"Gee, thanks, uncie Vlad, but I could do without the big, bad monster chasing us down," Danny replied.

"One can't have everything."

"You can," Danny muttered.

"Why, yes...I can, cant I?" Vlad replied, stoically.

"Rich jerk."

"People in my position tend to take comments like that as complements."

"Well it wasn't," Danny clarified.

"Really?" Vlad rolled his eyes, "I had no idea," he added and Danny laughed, shocking both himself and Vlad.

Danny realised that he preferred this version of Vlad rather than the one beating him up all the time; for obvious reasons, and for some not so obvious ones. This version of Vlad was...fun. Maybe this was how Vlad had been before he turned bitter after the lab accident. For the first time, Danny found himself wondering if he would've got on well with a young Vlad like his father had. But he'd never know, so he shook his head and coughed.

"I wonder what these things actually do..." Danny wondered aloud as he put down his now empty coffee mug and picked up the wooden staff.

"Yes, Desponius wasn't very forthcoming in explaining that, was he?"

"Maybe it explodes when it's near, or something," Danny blurted out and stared down at the staff with a worried expression.

"I doubt it's anything as overly dramatic as that, Daniel."

"Hey! It's always good to be careful around things you don't know anything about; rule number one of living with ghost hunters...everything explodes!"

"That's probably because you are a ghost surrounded by ghost hunting equipment."

"Shut it, Vlad," Danny muttered as he aimed the staff at Vlad. Instantly it shot out a blast of golden light and Vlad went intangible just as it did so. It blasted the sofa he'd been sitting on to pieces with a loud explosion of crackling light.

"Heh heh...whoops..." Danny rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry dude, it didn't do that earlier...weird...maybe it only works when you're irritated."

"I suggest you put it down...gently," Vlad said as he floated over the rubble and across to Danny, somehow, still holding his coffee mug.

"Right..." Danny nodded and very gently he placed it onto the table and jumped back onto the sofa with his eyes scrunched closed. He slowly opened them again and sighed, "Phew...close call..." he grinned nervously.

"Not for my couch," Vlad frowned.

"Erm..."

"My five thousand dollar couch," Vlad corrected himself.

"Erm...I'll...write ya a cheque?" Danny shrugged, abashed.

"Alright, then, while you're at it, those clothes you're wearing cost..."

"Ah...I don't wanna hear it!" he shook his head.

"That's probably best," Vlad replied as Danny yawned behind his hand, "Go to sleep, Daniel, I believe we're perfectly safe for a few hours yet."

"I'm fine," Danny insisted.

"No, you're not."

"Yeah, I am."

"Daniel."

"Vlad," Danny countered and Vlad rolled his eyes.

"Are children always this irritating to people trying to help them?"

"Yup, all the time," Danny nodded sagely and Vlad sighed again, "Don't take it personally, it's just what we do."

"Fantastic. But could you act like an adult for two minutes and listen to me?"

"Sure," Danny smiled, "But you can't make me go to sleep. It's not fair if only one of us gets to rest, I mean we are both monster food at this rate, so we might as well be well-rested monster food, right?"

"An interesting analysis, but I'd rather be a tired, exhausted, living half ghost, rather than a well-rested, dead one," Vlad relied articulately and Danny frowned.

"...Good point," he said, "So we'll both be 'tired, exhausted, living half ghosts', then? I like it."

"You're not listening to me at all, are you?"

"Nope."

"Fine, fine...do what you want, Daniel," Vlad waved a dismissive hand, and finally set down his coffee mug as they lapsed into silence.

"So...any genius plans forming...anything at all?" Danny asked, getting bored of the quiet.

"I wouldn't suggest facing it head on, we need a strategy," Vlad said, glaring at Danny.

"...Like what?"

"That's what I need to work on," Vlad replied and Danny slouched back in his seat as his eyes started to droop again. He really was tired, but he wanted to stay awake.

"R...right..." Danny yawned again and he lay his head back against the couch he was sitting on, "I'm listening..." he said with a nod, but before he knew it, and despite the coffee he'd drank, Danny fell asleep within a matter of minutes.

Vlad silently carried the boy to one of the bedrooms and then closed the door. He went back into the sitting room and took out the spirit mirror from his pocket. This was working surprisingly well in his favour.

"Desponius," he said confidently when he saw the hooded face of the spirit. "The child is asleep, I have an idea that might work..." Vlad began.

* * *

><p>Desponius floated around the Municium in the shadows after listening to Vlad's plan; he had to admit that it was a good one, not to mention a brave one. But could he let the half ghost go through with it? he'd clearly but a lot of thought into it but it was risky. Very risky, however it wasn't as though they had much choice. Calidae needed to be stopped and only by destroying him would he be stopped for good; imprisoning him would only last for so long again before they released him to he escaped.<p>

But the old spirit was concerned. Oh yes, he was extremely concerned. In the eye of the Senate he was a traitor, but that didn't bother him; his conscience was clear about that. What he couldn't live with was the fact that the hybrid could lose his life because of his own plan. Desponius wanted his bothers to see that they should've done something about Calidae a long time ago, but now someone else was paying the price for their failures.

If his brothers discovered his alliance with the hybrids then all would be lost; they denied being in league with Calidae however was it true? He wasn't sure.

Oh yes, Desponius was deeply, deeply concerned.

* * *

><p>Danny slowly opened his eyes and frowned in confusion as his surroundings became clear in the shadows. He was in unfamiliar surroundings and it never made him feel comfortable when he didn't know where he was when he woke up.<p>

Oh...right, he remembered now. It hasn't been a dream; it was real, it was all real. He was in Vlad's chalet in the Rocky Mountains. "Damn...I fell asleep..." he muttered quietly. He hadn't meant to sleep, he'd wanted to stay up because he didn't think it was fair that he got to rest and Vlad didn't. Vlad was in the same situation he was and Vlad didn't fall asleep.

The room he was in looked simple enough, except that everything looked very expensive, even the curtains looked like velvet. He pushed himself out of the soft, very cloud-like bed he'd been lying in, and meandered across to the door he could see at the other end of the room.

Walking back into the sitting room Danny found it empty, so he continued to walk through the building looking for Vlad. "Vlad?" he called out as he came into each room. When he came to the garage / lab room he saw Vlad lying under a pile of machinery as he tinkered with the wiring with a stressed expression on his face. He'd discarded his jacket and his white shirt sleeves were rolled back over his forearms which were spotted with dirt.

"Vlad?" Danny blinked and Vlad stopped what he was doing to move to from his work.

"Ah, Daniel," Vlad replied and sat up.

"What're you doing?"

"Hmm...nothing, just tinkering."

"Erm...is this really the best time for that?"

"Probably not," Vlad answered, "But what else am I supposed to do?" he shrugged.

"Whatever..." Danny blinked. "I guess we're still safe, then, huh?"

"For the time being."

"Good," the younger hybrid sighed as Vlad wiped his hands on a rag after standing up. "Is that...a ghost portal?" Danny asked, looking across the room. There was a large dust sheet covering something which took a very familiar shape.

"Hmm, yes," Vlad said, in disinterest and Danny simply nodded once. The young hybrid wasn't sure what he should do or say next. It was impossible to ignore the dangerous position they were in and it was even more award because the silence was getting to him.

For a while he simply walked slowly around the room, examining books and other things which were littered on the work surfaces. But suddenly, after around 20 minutes, the ground shook violent and everything in the room toppled from where it had been precariously balanced. Glass smashed, books tumbled, cupboard doors rattled, wires were stretched, metal clattered, in short; everything was in chaos.

Danny dropped the book he was holding in shock as he too was tossed around. "What the hell was that?!" he uttered and Vlad swore under his breath. He tossed aside the tools he'd been using and ran with urgency.

"Daniel, take the _Spectre Speeder_ and get as far away from here as you can!" he ordered Danny.

"What?!"

"Just do it!" Vlad shouted and pushed Danny over to the vehicle. He then took up the staff which he'd left leaning against the wall and handed it to Danny who continued to protest in confusion. He also made sure he'd left the mirror in the vehicle; his plan depended on it.

"This is your plan?! This is nuts!" Danny cried, "At least let me help!"

"You can't. If it finds you it'll take your powers and kill you, now go!" Vlad shouted again and slammed the door of the _Speeder_ closed in Danny's face. He then took out his transmitter and switched in the ghost shield which he'd rigged earlier to counteract humans as well and commanded the vehicle to drive forwards, away from the chalet.

Danny watched as the building got smaller and smaller, but he also saw a familiar black shadow as it swallowed up Vlad's chalet. The surrounding woodland was also engulfed very quickly and silently in the night. He could see the birds flying away from the danger and the noise of a thousand flapping wings and squarks snapped Danny from his state of shock.

"Vlad," he frowned as he clutched the staff. When he tried to leave the vehicle he was tossed back by the shield, both as a ghost and a a human. When he tried to turn it back to the chalet it wouldn't let him. He had no way of getting back. "Damn it!" he muttered and he slammed his fists against the wheel.

All he could see ahead was peaceful, open sky...until everything shook again. Something from behind him exploded; that was the only way to describe it. He jumped from his seat and ran to stare out the back window as the chalet and the surrounding woodland exploded in smoke and flames.

* * *

><p>Vlad waited for the opportune moment. He waited until the creature tore through his shields and stalked the very air before him. This was what he'd spent the last few hours preparing for. He'd wired the heart of the staff given by Desponius into his ghost portal and turned the device into a ticking time bomb ready to explode. But he'd need to be here to turn the switch, and he wanted to be sure that it killed the thing that had caused him so much pain.<p>

He'd made sure Danny had the other staff just in case this didn't work, them at least the boy would have a fighting chance, even though it was unlike to work. If this didn't kill it, then it was unlikely that Daniel would be able to. Vlad had also made sure that Danny had the mirror so that Desponius could explain his actions to the boy. Everything was in order. The only plan that had a chance of succeeding was ready.

However it was likely to also kill him in the process...

This was it, it was now or never. Vlad never thought he'd die like this. But still, it was rather ironic; 20 hears ago a ghost portal had half killed him and given him ghost powers. Now, 20 years later, it was going to finish the job and kill him for good. But at least he wasn't going to hell alone...

* * *

><p>"Daniel," Danny heard a voice speak and he yelled in surprise. He searched around skittishly for the source and quickly his eyes came to rest on the small mirror which was so strangely important. It was on the dash lard and he'd not noticed it before now, but it was impossible to miss at the moment...because it was emitting a pale golden light.<p>

"Whoa..." Danny blinked, confused as he picked up the object. He saw the shadowed face of the spirit Desponius in its polished and spotless surface and he frowned, "Erm, this isn't a good time."

"I know," the spirit said quickly, "You mustn't go back, I know what has happened; Vladimir told me of his intentions. If you are alone, then it has happened."

"And you let him do it?!"

"It was his wish, I couldn't stop him."

"You...you can't mean he's...he's...dead?"

"Most likely," he nodded and Danny sighed. He didn't know how to feel about that. Vlad had saved his life...and now he could be dead.

"No...no, I'm going back!"

"You can't, it was his wish."

"To hell with 'his wish'," Danny shouted.

Once again, even though deep down he knew it'd do no good he tried to pull the wheel around but he was surprised when it responded. The vehicle made a sharp U-turn in the air and Danny flew it at top speed towards the explosion. To hell with Vlad's stupid plan and his stupid wish.

...Of course, Danny didn't consider the theory that the vehicle was suddenly responding now because the transmitter had been obliterated. And since Vlad had the transmitter...what, therefore had become of him?

But Danny didn't think about this; he was too focused on steering the vehicle as fast as possible to get to the chalet, or, rather what was left of the chalet. He drove the _Speeder_ down into an almost 90 degree angle and it came crashing down into a tree top, and then it fell clumsily to the ground. Not the best idea perhaps, but all Danny cared about finding Vlad.

He scrambled out of the _Speeder_, grasping the stave as he ran his heart beat a mile a minute as he neared the site of the destruction. The surrounding trees had been completely burned and withered away, the ground had been scorched and had turned black from the force of the explosion and there wasn't a sound of a single animal left in the area. But as Danny got even closer, it got worse.

Now he began seeing the remains of the building which had been torn to millions of pieces by sheer force. There were pieces of metal and concrete and wood and chucks of what had once been expensive furniture all mixed together in one big mess. Books and scraps of fabric and pieces of glass, in parts were indistinguishable from each other the closer he got to the source.

As he continued to move carefully Danny brandished the stave with steady hands; years of ghosts fights had taught him a lot. "Vlad?" he whispered and walked carefully over the debris of the once impressive building. He couldn't believe Vlad would blow up his beloved chalet, especially with himself still inside it! It was nuts!

He continued to tread with caution as he scanned every inch he could see, "Vlad?" Danny repeated with growing concern, and eventually, he found Vlad.

The man was lying unmoving, covered in dust and debris. Danny dropped the staff and ran over to Vlad. He pushed off the rubble and shook the man by the shoulders, "Vlad...come on, wake up!" he ordered in a worried tone and he came close to slapping Vlad if he didn't respond soon.

"Hmm," Vlad grimaced and turned his head after a second.

"You're one crazy fruit loop, Vlad," Danny finally sighed in relief.

"Ha!" the man snorted as he opened his eyes, "And...you...never listen!"

"I already told you that. And didn't I also mention something about things exploding? When're you gonna start listening to me?" Danny asked as he started to help Vlad shift away the larger bits of debris to give him room to sit up unencumbered.

"Very...funny," Vlad groaned. His whole body ached but he'd have to ignore it; at least he was still alive. "Where is it?" the man asked aloud and they both started looking around.

"Erm...I think I found it..." Danny gulped.

He saw the black shadow not far from them. It was lying under rubble and dust and smoke as flames burnt all around them.

"Where? Is it dead?" Vlad asked but he soon saw for himself. The thing seemed to take a breath and the dust surrounding the air around it was blown in and out. And it started to move...very slowly...but it did...it moved. It was still alive.

"No..." Danny muttered in fear, "...But we're gonna be."

"It's still alive?!" Vlad breathed in disbelief as he squinted through the dust.

"Uh-huh," the young half ghost shuddered, "Come on...we gotta go now..." Danny helped Vlad get to his feet and he tried to pull the man away by his arm.

"And go where?" Vlad replied, "Once it recovers it will follow us again," he said as he quickly brought a hand up to cradle his shoulder which had started bleeding.

"So, what're you gonna do? You already blew up a house on it!"

"Yes," Vlad sighed, "With one of these to power the explosion," he said as he picked up Danny's discarded stave. "It clearly had some effect."

"There's no more houses to blow up, can't we just go?" Danny asked, "What happened to picking your battles?" he demanded but Vlad didn't answer. Instead he weakly morphed into his ghost half, looking as battered and bruised as before, he raised the stave and with its golden light, he attacked the enemy.

* * *

><p>A.N. Please let me know if you think I should write up the rest to finish this off or not :)<p> 


	18. A Time of Mutual Agreements

**What Unusual halflives we Lead**

Chapter 18: A Time of Mutual Agreements

* * *

><p>In a deep, dark corner of the Ghost Zone amidst the silence and desertion, was the only source of noise in the entire Zone. It was the cacophony of the noise of hundreds of thousands of ghosts all trapped together in close quarters, indignantly. Their prison was strong and unbreakable no matter what they threw at it.<p>

Walker was irritated by the irony of being imprisoned and his guards weren't too happy either. Skulker also wasn't liking the cruel twist and he was one of the few still trying to break out. The many smaller spectrals were flying around in the confined space as Young Blood chased them in an attempt to pass the time.

They'd lost track of how long they'd been here and many had given up and taken to simply fighting amongst themselves for entertainment. But then, as if by magic, their prison simply faded away into the ethers like smoke caught in the wind.

..They were free...how, they didn't know. But one thing they were all certain of; they needed revenge.

* * *

><p>Danny covered his eyes as the light from the staff grew brighter and brighter and brighter until he could even see the light through his closed eyelids; it became unbearable. He could feel the heat on his skin and it began to burn, it felt slightly different to being sunburned; it was far more intense and much less forgiving. It felt as though every cell in his body was being cooked in a giant oven at a hundred degrees and Danny hated it.<p>

"Vlad!" he called out; he couldn't take any more and he doubted that Vlad could either.

A second later the light vanished, leaving Danny and Vlad seeing bright spots in their vision as they blinked in an effort to clear their sight. Vlad winced after he lowered the staff and glanced across at their enemy. It was unmoving again; as still and silent as the proverbial grave. But was it dead? Had they won? He too had felt the rising temperatures from the attack but it didn't bother him as it did Danny, because his powers were heat based, whereas Danny's were based on cold.

Danny looked from the unmoving enemy and then to Vlad who was observing it with a stony gaze. The older hybrid continued to search for any signs of movement, no matter how insignificant. If the creature made one single move it would mean their deaths; they had nothing left to throw at it so, this really was a last stand.

He took slow steps across to the unmoving spirit but Danny grabbed his arm, "What're you doing? It could be playing dead!"

"That's what I'm trying to find out," he replied calmly.

"Bad idea, dude."

"You have a better one? We can't leave here without knowing for sure," Vlad said and Danny reluctantly let go of his arm and followed him as he moved.

"What happens when you kill a ghost...I mean...a spirit, anyway?"

"I've no idea," Vlad answered.

"Oh...helpful," Danny nodded.

As they stood only mere centimetres away a blast of ectoplasm shot down to the ground at Danny's feet and he jumped into the air in shock. "Hey!" he cried and looked up to see who'd attacked him.

"Skulker?" Danny said in confusion, "Where'd he come from?"

And before the young hybrid had even finished speaking he and Vlad could see even more ghosts flying towards them; ghosts they knew very well. There was Walker and his guards, Dora and her army, Pandora, Wulf, Spectra and Bertrand, Ember, Johnny and Kitty, Tenchnus, Desiree, Frostbite and the others of the Far Frozen, Nocturne, Young Blood and the list went on to even include the Box Ghost. They all had one thing in common; the same look of anger and hatred.

The hundreds of thousands of ghosts flew down to stand and float around the rubble as they took one look at the large, dark spirit lying unmoving on the ground.

"Aww, man, you guys had all the fun!" Johnny moaned.

"Huh...yeah...it was really fun, wasn't it, Vlad?" Danny chuckled sarcastically.

"Revenge for being imprisoning the warden is in the rule book, ghost punk," Walker said.

"What about our revenge? He got us too! And we got locked up with Boxy!" Young Blood groaned in frustration.

"I am the Box Ghost, not 'Boxy'!" said the aforementioned, indignant ghost, but nobody really listened.

"It's...dead..." Kitty said as she hovered over the Calidae and gently nudged it with the toe of her boot.

"Good," Spectra smiled and the other ghosts nodded and murmured their agreement.

"What'd it do to you guys?" Danny asked curiously.

"Oh, only locked us all up in a part of the Zone I'd never even seen before...in the smallest cage thing in the whole world!" Kitty said as she kicked the creature with a smile.

"It was worse than your stupid thermos!" Ember added.

"That punk broke over a hundred rules," Walker said.

"And my sanity," Spectra sighed quietly.

"It started to steal our powers!" Young Blood yelled, waving his arms around.

"Yeah...it does that..." Danny nodded and then clicked. He looked at the wound in his side, expecting it to be magically gone or something but it was still there. "Erm...Vlad..." he said, "...This isn't good..."

"No, no it isn't," Vlad sighed as he knelt beside Danny. He'd honestly expected the wound to fade away if the creature was dead...was it possible that it wasn't dead?

"Oh, man," Johnny stepped back and his shadow even had a worried expression. "Every ghost for his-self..." he muttered as he saw the creature start to move.

"Hey!" Kitty cried at him but she too was then transfixed. The creature was moving. It was alive, "Uh-oh," she muttered in fear.

"Hey, Vlad," Danny began as he moved back, "You think anything happens when we die? I mean...we're already part ghost...you think there's anything after that?"

"I...I doubt it," Vlad replied, uncertainly, "And is this honestly the best moment for..."

"If there is...let's...fight less...okay?" Danny suggested lightly, "You're not so bad when you're not trying to kill me."

"...We're not going to die," Vlad replied.

"If you say so," Danny muttered as he watched the ghosts ready themselves for a fight.

Calidae took slow, steadying breaths and he ignored the pain of death which he could feel nibbling at his powers. The powers he had careful cultivated and stolen were failing him and he was all but spent. He hadn't counted on the older hybrid acquiring so much power so quickly, but he couldn't give up. He was still alive, he still had time to turn this around, he could still win! But just as he started to move out from the rubble and dust, the ghosts attacked him simultaneously and without warning. Usually simple ectoplasm wouldn't even leave a scratch in him, but because he was now so weakened, it did.

With a yell of anger he threw of the attacks and floated up from the ground. He could still feel the power from the young hybrid slowly draining from the boy and it was giving him strength but it wasn't fast enough. So he attacked the ghosts at random and then launched a powerful blast and directed it at Danny.

As the attack came towards him, Danny morphed into his ghost half ready to retaliate, but before he could do so, Vlad teleported in front of him and then pushed him out of the way. Vlad tossed the staff aside and held out his hands towards the oncoming energy. His idea was a simple one; Absorption and Redirection. Ectoplasm had little effect on the creature, but its own energy would.

Vlad didn't tend to use this particular power as much because of the unusual sensation it carried and it would probably be worse now that he was planning on using it against a spirit rather than a ghost. He hadn't planned on using it at all because of the difference in powers between ghosts and spirits, but Desponius had assured him that the fundamentals were the same, and it wasn't as though he had much left to try anyway.

It wasn't an easy move; as one had to capture and control the energy of another being it was a rare ability, but one which Vlad had mastered many years ago. But when the energy hit his expectant hands he winced; maybe this wouldn't be as straight forwards as he'd thought.

It seemed to Vlad to take hours for him to bring the energy under control, and he felt he air around him crackle with purple lighting and green ectoplasm as he struggled with the attack. But in the end, Vlad was not to be beat, and he threw the energy back from whence it came; his aim left something to be desired but after all the effort he'd out into redirecting it, it was excusable. The energy skimmed the ground like lighting as it moved and the black eyes of Calidae widened in shock; this he had nor expected.

"Nice," Danny raised an eyebrow in reluctant awe as the attack hit its mark.

The creature was thrown backwards in a dark blast of black smoke and purple lighting which ignited the surrounding rubble, setting it ablaze and effectively trapping the creature inside as it burned. It was an unusual sight to behold and despite the fact that ghosts didn't need to breathe, many found themselves holding their breath in anticipation as they waited to see if they were safe. And sure, enough, a minute later, the form of the creature seemed to explode in black smoke and the tattered remains of its purple cloak fell to the ground.

"Wow," Young Blood said simply, "...That was awesome!" he cried a second later and jumped into the air like a child at Christmas.

Vlad found himself unable to keep his ghost form active and he fell to his knees as a rather beat-up looking human. He stared down at his hands as they tingled with something akin to extreme hyperthermia but there was no scar or anything out of the ordinary to indicate that something was amiss.

"You okay?" Danny asked him, and he simply nodded.

"We must celebrate!" Dora smiled, "Perhaps today could be remembered as a new truce."

"Not likely," Walker frowned, "One day only; it's a rule."

"Party pooper," Young Blood sulked and Dora nodded in agreement.

Danny failed to hear any of this as he felt the scabbing wound on his side quickly disappear. He looked at it and it just fell away from his skin in small clumps and as it hit the ground it fizzled away like strong acid on a work surface. When it was completely gone, Danny felt strength he didn't realise he'd lost return to him and he quickly aided Frostbite in putting out the fires burning around them using their ice powers.

"This is going to give people something to talk about," Vlad sighed as he stood up.

"What'd you mean?" Danny asked.

"Million dollar chalets don't just randomly explode, Daniel. It will certainly be a difficult one to explain."

"Oh...right, I guess so...glad I'm not you right now," the young hybrid replied.

"Thank you for your sympathy," Vlad scoffed.

"Hey, you didn't have to blow it up."

"What else was I supposed to have done?!"

"I don't know!" Danny yelled.

"It will have to be rebuilt."

"Yeah, I'd stay clear of the animal heads," the younger hybrid pointed out.

"If I do, will you visit your dear, old uncle?" Vlad joked.

"Only if there's no animal heads!" Danny chuckled. He wasn't sure of he meant it as a joke or not; he was simply glad to be alive.

"They were trophies," Vlad told him.

"But that's just..."

"Knock it off, ghost child! Every good hunter needs to display his trophies," Skulker said angrily.

"Well you certainly feel the need to!" Ember frowned at him.

"Oh...trouble in paradise," Danny laughed, although he had no idea that the two ghosts were actually in 'paradise.'

Vlad rolled his eyes as many of the ghosts began to disperse, "Daniel, where did you leave my Spectre Speeder?"

"Erm..." Danny rubbed the back of his neck as he remembered that he'd crashed it; Vlad wouldn't be happy to hear that one. "Well...erm...it...I..." he stuttered.

"What did you do?"

"Well...it wasn't me...there was this tree, and...erm..."

"Please tell me you didn't crash into a tree," Vlad sighed.

"Erm...I didn't crash into a tree..." Danny shrugged.

"You owe me on sofa and a Spectre Speeder."

"How'm I supposed to pay you back for that?"

"Get a job!"

"I tried! I got fired because..."

"I don't care!"

"Well it's not like you need anymore money anyway!" Danny shouted back.

"That is true, isn't it?" Vlad smirked. He wasn't happy of course, but Daniel was the only one whom he'd let off the hook like this. Now he'd have to teleport all the way back to his mansion in Amity Park, after all the power he'd just used in the fight as well. He wasn't looking forward to that.

Danny scoffed and moved away to talk to Dora for a minute and Vlad caught Skulker's eye. He quickly ordered the ghost to take a sample of the dust that remained of the spirit and the hunter quickly did so, making sure that he wasn't observed. He then nodded at Vlad and hid it in his suit as he turned to Danny, who hasn't noticed their exchange.

"A temporary truce for now, ghost child. It ends at dawn!" Skulker said with a smirk then he took off into the sky. The remaining ghosts also flew away which left only Vlad and Danny in the burned and blackened clearing.

"Great," Danny muttered as Vlad turned to the remains of his once glorious chalet. H didn't have much of a choice; he raised his hands and set what was left alight. "What're you doing?!" Danny yelled.

"Thinking ahead," Vlad answered, "I can't explain an explosion with remains of ectoplasmic attacks, but a fire which destroys the whole thing is much more viable."

"Right..." Danny muttered and they waited until the fire burnt out.

When it had, Vlad turned to Danny, "Show me where you crashed my vehicle, Daniel," he ordered.

"Erm...I think it's...this way...maybe..." Danny said and started walking through the trees. It took him a while but eventually he did find the vehicle; it was certainly not in a good way.

Vlad only sighed as he gave Danny the staff to hole while he went on to move aside the broken branches and fought his way into the Speeder. Fortunately his book had survived in one piece but the mirror had been completely smashed. Vlad gathered the pieces and pocketed them. Then he set the vehicle alight green ectoplasm to avoid the technology from being found and he watched until it was ashes.

"So...what now? How do we get back? Fly?" Danny asked him.

"I teleport, you fly," Vlad answered smugly as he steeled himself to morph again.

"Aww, man, you're just gonna leave me here?"

"Why not?" the older hybrid shrugged before his black transformation rings weakly helped him to morph.

"No fair," Danny crossed his arms over the 'D' insignia on his chest.

Vlad chuckled and grabbed Danny's arm, "Just hope I can get us both there intact," he said quickly.

"Wha..." Danny started to ask but they were gone in a flash of smoke before he could finish.

* * *

><p>Madeline Fenton considered herself a strong woman and she had many valid experiences upon which she based this conclusion; her choice of career for one. And she had a black belt, she could defend herself against a horde of ghosts and he could cook a mean Christmas turkey...when it didn't come to life that was. But all that was irrelevant, because as she opened her eyes she saw the familiar surroundings of a private hospital room; the white walls and sterile lights were a dead give away.<p>

She turned her head and saw her husband sleeping in a bed across from her, and Jazz was sitting in a chair beside his bed dressed in her usual blue trousers and blue shirt, reading a book.

"Jasmine?" Maddie

"Mom, you're awake!" Jazz cried and ran across to her mother.

"Where's Danny?" the woman asked instantly.

"He's...with...Vlad..." Jazz answered sounding confused herself. "Sam and Tucker told me, he was with them when...it...happened, and Vlad let him stay with him," she said. In truth, Jazz was unsure of this herself, but she trusted Sam and Tucker not to lie about something so important as this. She'd woken up a while ago and Danny's two friends had been in the room when she had. Then they'd told her that Danny had called them and told them about it.

"Vlad?" Maddie repeated with even greater confusion.

"Yeah," Jazz nodded.

"Huh."

"That's what I though, too," the younger woman sighed, "But so long as he's okay."

"Well, I suppose so," Maddie frowned, "How's Jack?"

"Dad's getting better, he got the worst of it apparently," Jazz answered, "Mom...what exactly was it?"

"...I don't know, Jazz, I really don't know; that's what's scary."

"Yeah..." Jazz shuddered and decided to change the subject, "Apparently, Vlad paid the bill," she said with a raised eyebrow.

"...Huh..." Maddie simply repeated, she made a mental note to talk to their 'old college pal' when she saw him again.

"I don't get it either, mom," Jazz sighed and stared at the closed curtains hanging over the window, "This must've cost a fortune," she said quietly to herself as the lights flickered gently in the silence.

* * *

><p>"Hello, my old friends," Clockwork spoke sadly as he turned around.<p>

"And to you," Desponius replied.

"Greetings, Clockwork," Alothea smiled.

"You did well," the Master of Time smiled gently at the two of them and Alothea nodded.

"Did I?" the spirit aside sardonically and learned heavily against his staff. He had flew to the lair of his friend whom he hadn't spoken to in several centuries. It was an silence he regretted but he couldn't do anything to change it now, and Clockwork knew of the difficulties he'd faced. "Once they discover my interference I'm as good as dissipated."

"Maybe not, they don't have to know."

"They're not completely devoid of intellect, Clockwork," the Decurio scoffed.

"No, but they are devoid of emotion, you are not. They will not find out," Clockwork said with determination.

"I'm tired, my friend, maybe it is my time," Desponius suggested.

"I know time, and I know that you are wrong."

"Am I?"

"Most definitely," Clockwork nodded.

"I wish we'd acted differently, we could've prevented all of this if only we had..."

"Don't," the Master of Time began, "It does no good to dwell on it."

"No, no, I know," the spirit nodded, "But now I fear for the hybrids. My brothers will know their strength and fear them."

"Danny and Vladimir will be fine, before perhaps your brothers would've been a threat to them, but not now. I have seen that there is an alliance on the horizon for them; your brothers cannot touch them."

"That is a worrying thought."

"Perhaps; this disaster has changed the future in ways which even I did not anticipate...but maybe it is for the best."

"How so?" Desponius asked as he and Alothea floated across to the image now blurring into focus on Clockwork's time portal. It formed the image of Vlad being abandoned in space by Jack Fenton and the spirit was suddenly very confused.

"This was Vladimir's fixed future, but now I see many alternate ones forming," Clockwork told him.

"Not for the first time, my friend, I have the impression that you have too much power."

"It is why I do no interfere."

"Except when it suits you," Desponius said dangerously.

"Except when time is threatened," Clockwork corrected gently.

"Hmm," the spirit smiled under his cowl and his eyes suddenly found their lost spark.

"Go back to your Basilica, Desponius," Clockwork said, "You and your senate have much to do. You could bring the Municium into the light once more; you've no reason to hide in the shadows."

Desponius sighed as he contemplated the idea which he'd already put much thought into before coming here. But it wouldn't be an easy task; his brothers, save Ovidius were set in their ways and they wouldn't even think of such an idea, but they would have to listen to him, and he would try. He'd come here intending to bid his final 'farewell' to his old friend, instead he was leaving with renewed energy and a lengthy itinerary.

"And you, my dear," the Master of Time turned to Alothea once Desponius was gone, "Go back to Vladimir - he will have another task for you and your friends before the night is done. And you will be pleased to know, that it will be far more menial than anything that has happened recently."

* * *

><p>Danny dropped unceremoniously to the floor and landed with a 'thud,' he groaned as he pushed himself to sit up, "Ouch," he muttered.<p>

"Yes, not one of my better landings," Vlad nodded as he collapsed into an armchair. He'd managed to somehow teleport them both into his sitting room in his manor in Amity Park. He was absolutely exhausted and he'd been very surprised that he'd actually managed to teleport so far and to still keep his eyes open. He watched as Danny stood up and started to walk from the room.

"And where are you going?" he asked as he rubbed his temples.

"Home," Danny said as though it was obvious.

"In case you'd forgotten, Daniel, Fenton Works remains in disarray," Vlad yawned.

"Oh...yeah, right," Danny sighed and sat back down slowly. A second later he sprang back up again, "Then I'd better go fix it; mom won't like the mess when she gets out of hospital."

"Is late, it's no time for spring cleaning," Vlad smirked, "I suggest you stay here."

The young hybrid knew he should've protested but he was tired too and he yawned a moment after Vlad had. "Well...okay...I guess," he shrugged. He didn't really want to have to go back to the mess left in his home just yet anyway, "Just for tonight," Danny nodded and curled up on the couch. Maddie the white cat jumped up and snuggled into Danny's arms.

"There are beds upstairs that are far more comfortable than the couch."

"'M'fine," Danny yawned as he closed his eyes; he was asleep almost instantly.

Vlad could only marvel once more at Danny's ability to fall asleep so quickly, but he supposed he knew why the child could do so. Once more. He carried the younger hybrid to a bedroom and then he sought out his ghostly staff. He found them talking quietly in the kitchen; it seemed that they were listening to Louis and Harry debate about who should be the head chef.

He quickly dismissed their argument and ordered them to quickly fly over to the Fenton house and clean and tidy it from top to bottom, constantly reminding himself that he was doing it for Danny, not for Jack. Then he went up to his own room and placed the book, the staff and the pieces of broken mirror on his desk. It was unfortunately beyond repair. After all the time and effort and money he'd spent on getting the blasted thing it was lost forever.

The hybrid sighed as he sensed another ghost and he heard a faint noise. He looked around and settled on the space between two of the large sash windows at the far end of the room.

"Hello, Skulker," Vlad said suddenly.

"How did you know it was me?" the hunter asked incredulously.

"Your suit, it needs work," Vlad replied and held out his hand expectantly and Skulker took out a small pouch. "And you forget, no ghost can hide from me," he added egotistically and the hunter figured it was best to stay nothing to that one.

"Here, though I don't know what you expect to do with it," he said instead as Vlad took the object.

"Neither do I, as yet," the man shook his head, "But it might prove to be useful one day," Vlad finished.

Skulker merely shrugged before he flew away again, leaving Vlad alone once more. The man tried to piece together the broken mirror but there was simply too many pieces and there were small fragments missing which he hadn't been able to recover in the wreckage of his vehicle. It truly was a shame but perhaps in a way, it was for the best. For so long he'd been enticed with finding the Decuriones but all it had brought him was trouble; it was the story of Vlad's life.

Perhaps it would be best to close this chapter in his life and leave Decuriones be. Yes, yes, he'd do that. But as for their power of equaplasm, however, that was another story entirely. Vlad took up the items and flew down to his lab, where he locked them in his safe and turned on the ghost shield. He then flew back up to his room and he fell onto his bed in much the same way as he had done his sitting room chair. He fell asleep faster than he could ever remember doing in his life.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

When the dawn arrived, Vlad awoke and after a shower and a change of clothes the phone call he'd been expecting arrived. The authorities in the Rocky Mountains had found what remained of his chalet and told him of the 'unexpected and inexplicable fire' which had destroyed it. He played the part of the devastated billionaire. he was indignant and fuming and very displeased and he even slammed the phone down afterwards though it was more in anger at himself at failing to devise a better plan. He'd grown rather attached to that chalet...but he was more fond of his life.

He spent most of the early morning reading in his study until it was time for breakfast when Harry the chef informed him that he'd prepared a substantial meal. Vlad then floated up to the bedroom in which he'd left Danny and found the boy sound asleep under the pile of warm blankets.

"Daniel, wake up," Vlad ordered but Danny just rolled over onto his other side, "Wake up," he repeated.

"'M...go 'way...'m sleepy..." Danny muttered and swatted his hand in an attempt to bat away the annoyance that was trying to get him up. He'd never slept in a bed so comfy as this one and he was not getting up for anything; who knew, it could be hours, even days when he got the chance to sleep so well again.

Vlad was getting irritated at the lack of response and he was tempted to shock the boy with ecto-energy but decided against it for now. The older hybrid simply sighed in a combination of bemusement and annoyance when an amusing idea came to mind. He floated back down through the manor and into the kitchen where he picked up one of the plates and a set of cutlery and went back up to Danny - he was of course still asleep. Vlad put the plate of food on the bedside table and went to wake Danny again.

"Don't you want breakfast, Daniel?" Vlad asked as the boy began to stir.

"Huh?" Danny hummed from under the covers and he wormed his way out from under them so he could see what was going on. "Vlad?" he questioned in confusion. For a moment he wondered what on earth Vlad was doing in his room but then he remembered that he was still in Vlad's house because Fenton Works had been trashed. But, somehow that didn't seem to matter in light of the glorious smell he woke up to. It smelt like heaven; it was bacon and eggs and sausages and hash browns an beans.

Danny searched for the source of the smell and his eyes landed on the plate of food. "Food..." he whispered to himself. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten something which smelt so good.

"So breakfast in bed is what it takes to wake you," Vlad smirked, "I was beginning to wonder."

"Funny," Danny replied sarcastically and then blinked quickly. "No, wait..." he frowned "Mom and dad, and Jazz, they're still in the hospital...I gotta..."

"To what?" Vlad asked before Danny could jump from the bed, "They'll still be there in an hours time and they're receiving the best care money can buy, believe me."

"...What's the catch on that, by the way?"

"No catch," Vlad shrugged and handed the plate of food to Danny, "Not yet, at least," he smirked a moment later and Danny rolled his eyes; there was normal Vlad. Without another thought, Danny started wolfing the breakfast down so fast he may as well have been inhaling it. "This...is best breakfast...in the world," he said after a minute with a mouthful of food.

"Swallow first, then speak," the older hybrid sighed.

"Yes, mom," Danny said with heavy sarcasm.

"Come downstairs when you've finished," Vlad told him before phasing through the floor and Danny was left staring at an empty space.

He really had no idea how to act around Vlad now; on the one hand it was like they were allies and on the other was all the mess Vlad had caused before for him. Could he really brush it all away like it never happened? Could he really disregard the fact that Vlad wanted his dad dead? But then, if Vlad wanted Jack Fenton dead, why then was he paying for the man's medical bills? It just didn't make much sense at all and it made Danny's head spin.

It didn't take long for him to finish the breakfast, which he would forever describe as the world's very best, then he had a quick wash in the bathroom he found adjoining to bedroom after much debate as to whether or not he could use it, and then he went downstairs. He found Vlad alone in the sitting room with the news on the TV and a newspaper in hand, but he looked almost bored as he glared blankly at something in the paper.

"Bad news day or something?" Danny asked as he walked into the room.

"Hmm?" Vlad raised an eyebrow, "Not for me, but for you however..." he trailed off and handed Danny the paper, pointing out a certain article.

Danny skimmed across the words and saw exactly what Vlad meant with a frown, "Oh...fantastic," he sighed. It was an article about the dangers of ghost hunting using the hospitalisation of his family as a prime example; like they didn't get enough bad press already. "I hate the press," Danny rolled his eyes and slapped the newspaper down on a table.

"Yes, they are rather meddlesome," Vlad agreed, "Unfortunately, I haven't been here to run damage control, so they've had free reign, so to speak."

"Well, it's not like this is the first time we've been in the media...I just wish one time it be for something good...and I can't exactly go tell them I just helped beat a big bad monster that could've taken over the world, can I?"

"Not exactly, no."

"Argh," Danny growled and morphed into his ghost half. "I'm going to the hospital...you wanna..."

"Something tells me I won't be welcome," Vlad shrugged emotionlessly, "You go," he said.

"But I..."

"Just...go, Daniel, you know where I am," he snapped with a tone of finality and Danny sighed. He then morphed into his ghost half and flew at top speed to the hospital.

Vlad sighed once he was left alone and dragged a hand down his face; he was still exhausted and irritable but he didn't know why he felt a twinge of disappointment as well. What had he expected? Had he expected Danny to simply stay here and go on ignoring his family? No, that was a ludicrous idea; the boy loved his family as much as Vlad loved his wealth and the two could not, would not be separated.

The man groaned at his own strange weakness and retreated to his lab where he spent the rest of the day doing tests on the ash that remained of the Calidae and in a deep, solitary study of his books.


	19. Nothing in Life, or Un-life, is Free

**What Unusual Halflives we Lead**

Chapter 19: Nothing in Life, or Un-life, is Free

* * *

><p>High Consul, Desponius, ranking Augur of the Basilica was stood before his twelve brothers in their vast Senate House. His three main advisors had been regarding him with scrutinising eyes for the past twenty minutes but he needed their approval for things to change. He couldn't pass a single decree without their majority vote and unfortunately for him, they were most stubborn and completely set in their ways.<p>

The Praetor, Simacus, the Aedile, Saturnalicus and the Quaestor, Veridius, were cold, unfeeling and supercilious; perfect examples of the untouchable image the Senate wanted to portray and they never listened. However, the lower ranking Senators, Allaricus, Seneca, Livinus, Otho, Avitus, Aelianus, Porphyrius, and Ovidius were bound by law to listen to him and his proposals. At least he had an ally in Ovidius, but only one vote of a Senator would not hold much sway with his main advisors.

"It has been proven that our arrogance has consequences," Desponius said.

"It is no concern of ours what happens to the human world, " Simacus scoffed.

"He is right," several murmurs came from the Senators in agreement.

"No, he is wrong," Ovidius spoke, "Our actions affected this world as well; do we not have an obligation to keep it safe?

"No, we do not, Senator," Saturnalicus growled, "This world was a mistake."

"We inhabit it now as much as the ghosts, it is our responsibility as well as theirs," Ovidius insisted.

"We are above the mere idea of responsibility!" Saturnalicus shot back.

"Perhaps the point is a valid one," Porphyrius suggested pensively, "I believe it should be due some consideration."

"Then you are a fool!" Simacus hissed loudly and banged his staff on the hard, ground for emphasis. The echoing 'crack' from the meeting of marble like floor and unnatural wooden staff was otherworldly, and it chorused several times around the room before quieting into silence.

"Simacus," Desponius sighed, "We will discuss this as the civilised beings we are," he said and the other spirit let out a huff of irritation but said nothing further.

"We have always been, and will always be the superior beings, whether it be against ghosts or humans, or their hybrids," Saturnalicus almost spat the last word with disdain, "We have no obligation to any of them!"

"Perhaps we are not superior," Ovidius said slowly, "Perhaps we never truly were."

"You really are a fool, Ovidius!"

"Enough!" Veridius cried, speaking for the first time, "If we are above responsibility then we are above petty insults and arguments. I do not believe us to be gods, however I was once in favour of our isolationism, now perhaps in hindsight I see that it was...unwise."

"It was the only possible solution," Otho commented, and the two Senators sat on either side of him nodded in agreement.

"It was the easiest solution," Desponius corrected them in an exasperated tone of a chastising parent.

"You go too far, Desponius, you may be High Consul, but..." Saturnalicus shouted angrily.

"Enough, Saturnalicus," the ranking Augur said with an eery calmness, "If you cannot control yourself, you will be removed from the debate," he finished and every one of them fell silent for a moment.

"Calidae threatened both ghost and human kind, and I don't doubt he would've come for us once he regained his strength," Ovidius said.

"He had served his sentence," Simacus shrugged.

"...And the only purpose it served was to fuel his hatred and his anger," Desponius spoke tersely.

"Well, I..." another Senator began and Desponius sighed as the 'debate' raged on and on and on. It left him wondering if listening to Clockwork had really been a good idea after all. But everything worth having had a price, and perhaps, if the price of brining the Municium out of the dark corners of the Aliis Mundi was for him to listen to his brothers argue forevermore, then it was a price worth paying.

* * *

><p>Danny walked through the hospital corridors and he fought the urge to run away; hospitals he found, had recently elicited fear from him. Before all this had happened, hospitals hadn't really bothered him, but when Vlad had brought up the subject about half ghosts being 'frowned upon' in them, it'd got Danny thinking quite a bit. He couldn't help but wonder what the older hybrid had actually gone through, but it wasn't as though Vlad would tell him if he asked.<p>

"In here," the woman said and Danny blinked away his thoughts and smiled at her in thanks. He pushed open the door and came fact to face with his sister who looked remarkably well, dressed in her usual clothes but she did look a little worse for the wear.

"Danny?" Jazz smiled and hugged her brother tightly, "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Yeah," Danny muttered as Jazz let go off him, "You too," he said and then gazed sadly across at his sleeping father and then at his mother who was reclining back against a mass of pillows on her own bed. "Hey, mom," he whispered and walked across to her.

For what had happened to his his family, Danny blamed himself; it was because of his ghost powers that this had happened. Ghost powers brought a lot of trouble, and in this Vlad was lucky because he didn't really have a family to get hurt, did he?

Maddie smiled in relief as she hugged her son, "Where have you been?"

"Erm...with erm...with Vlad..." Danny answered and took in his mother's look of confusion. "It'd okay, really, he's been...cool."

"Huh," the woman nodded and Danny took a seat by her bed.

As the day passed they continued to talk into the afternoon, but Jack Fenton continued to sleep; doctors informed them that the would remain so for several days because of the trauma to his system. Danny was just happy that his family were all alive and recovering but he couldn't escape the feeling of guilt that continued to plague his mind. While part of him insisted that it wasn't his fault; that the creature had done this, not him, the other part said that if he didn't have ghost powers, his family wouldn't be hurt. People always seemed to he hurt because of his stupid powers!

"It's getting late," Maddie said later, "You two should go home."

"But mom, home's a mess," Jazz replied.

"I don't remember your rooms being affected," the older woman blinked, "And I don't want you kids sleeping here because of us, you go home," Maddie said, "I'll only be in here for a few more days."

"But..." Jazz replied, "Well...alright...but we'll fetch you some clean clothes, at least."

And so, a while later, Danny and Jazz caught the bus and returned to Fenton Works expecting to face the chaos left after the fight, but what they did find wasn't exactly chaotic.

"What the..." Danny trailed off in complete and utter astonishment.

"What? Danny, what's..." Jazz asked frantically as she pushed past her brother, "Oh," she blinked as she took in the room.

It was spotless. It practically shone with cleanliness as a posed to the destroyed wreck she last remembered this was one hell of a shock And Jazz wasn't sure her nervous system was prepared for the answer yet. "What...happened to the...the mess?" she voiced, walking through into the sitting room. It was exactly as she remembered it; not a hair out of place. The sofa and the table and the lamp and the TV and the carpet and even the curtains...it all looked untouched...like there'd never been an epic fight in there at all.

"Vlad..." Danny muttered a second later.

"Vlad? Really, Danny? I think he's got more 'important' things to be doing than cleaning up our house," his sister scoffed before making her way into the kitchen.

"Not Vlad personally, Jazz...he's...got ghost servants..." Danny explained nervously as he followed his sister.

"Ghost servants?"

"Yeah...that's what I thought...turns out they're not that bad," he shrugged.

Jazz sighed as she shook her head in confusion and decided that it was best to to talk about it further; she'd long since given up on trying to understand Vlad Masters. Instead, she walked up the stairs slowly and went into their parents room and took out a bag from under the bed, pushing aside numerous ghost hunting devices before hand. Jazz set about packing some clothes for their parents and Danny sat on the bed as she did so.

"I can do it, if you..." he began.

"I'm fine, Danny," Jazz curtly replied, "I'm just confused. We've already established that Vlad's a certified fruit loop, and now you're acting like he's a best friend or something!"

"First of all, he's not my 'best friend', and secondly, we've been through a lot lately and...I do actually trust the guy now..." Danny sighed and flopped back onto the large bed, "...It confuses me too, Jazz, believe me."

"Tell me about what happened, I know you won't tell mom and dad, but you can talk to me, Danny, please."

"Basically...this thing...the thing that attacked you guys, it wanted to steal our powers...don't freak out..." Danny began, "And long story short it chased us across the Zone and back again and we killed it...or...whatever you do to spirits when they turn to dust...oh, and it took all the other ghosts hostage as well."

Jazz blinked and stared at her little brother as he finished speaking quite calmly. "And now all of a sudden you trust Vlad?"

"Well, yeah," Danny nodded, "He did kind of save my life...and yours and moms and dads...he didn't have to - he wasn't going to...but he did."

"Why? Why save us, and why pay for the hospital bill?" Jazz asked, "I don't understand at all."

"Me neither," the young hybrid said, "But he did, so I trust him. Y'know...he's not so bad when he's not being all evil-genius-y," he smiled.

"If you say so, Danny, I just don't want you to make a decision you'll regret," Jazz told him. "We both know what Vlad's capable of, and if this is another of his..."

"It isn't, trust me, Jazz; Vlad didn't plan this. It beat him up as bad as anyone, and he blew up his house, with him still in it, to try and kill the thing!"

"He blew up his house?! Were you there? What did he..." Jazz exclaimed in horror.

"Technically he blew up his chalet thing in the Rockies, and no, I wasn't there...he sort of...forced me out before it blew...And it was kind of shame too, 'cos he'd got rid of all the animal head things and it was actually really nice," Danny explained calmly. "I know it's gonna be weird, but I don't think it'd be right to just go back to fighting again after all this."

"...Okay, Danny, I trust you," Jazz sighed, "But that doesn't mean I'm gonna forget everything he's ever done."

"No..." Danny closed his eyes. It was also an issue he too was having troubles with; Vlad had saved his life and had proven that he was trustworthy, but there was all of the things the man had done before hand, some of which were simply appalling.

"Right..." Jazz said as she zipped up the bag, "We better take these over," she then went to lift the bag but winced as a small pain shot through her wrist. Danny quickly took the bag and together they made their way out of the house, into Jazz's car and took a slow drive back to the hospital.

Later that night, the siblings returned to the house and Jazz collapsed on her bed, dropping instantly into a deep and dreamless sleep. But as the city slept, Danny lay tossing and turning in his bed; he just couldn't sleep. It was a mix of worry for his parents quick recovery, and of something else he could quite describe. Whatever it was it gave him an odd feeling that was akin to guilt and after a while, Danny gave up on trying to sleep. He flew out of the house through his window to glide slowly and aimlessly across the rooftops.

He floated through the beautiful nights sky and parted the grey clouds as he passed through them; it looked as though it would rain soon. He dropped back down to earth and passed under bridges, he sorted over the school and down the empty streets which were lit with tall, flickering lamps. He sat on the grass next to the fountain in the park and he sat atop the tallest skyscrapers and apartment buildings, listening to people laughing and talking and occasionally, shouting at one another.

And, for some reason, without meaning to, Danny soon found himself staring at Vlad's manor, as he sat across from it on a large, thick tree branch, leaning against the trunk. The young hybrid had absolutely no idea whatsoever as to why he was here - none at all. Really. Why would he come to Vlad's house? Vlad's house wasn't a safe place for him...was it? It was where his arch-enemy lived! It was crazy coming so close! But at least when he'd been in Vlad's house he hadn't been attacked by a big scary monster...just Vlad himself. Huh...funny.

Danny sighed and leaned his head back against the tree with his eyes closed as the wind gently caressed his face and played with his snow white hair. He wasn't sure how long he sat there, just thinking, but a sometime later it started to rain, only lightly at first. Gradually, though it got worse and soon Danny could see lighting strike the air and he heard the booming sound of thunder roaring above his head. He'd flown in a storm like this once; it had not been a good idea and he didn't want to do so again.

The young hybrid looked again at the manor and then up at the clouds once more; it didn't look like the rain would let up any time soon and he hadn't yet learned how to teleport. He felt soaked to the bone and it was getting colder and finally, with a sigh he flew quickly towards the building ahead. Maybe this storm made things easier; he wanted to talk to Vlad but he couldn't bring himself to so it, but the storm gave him an excuse to go into the man's house...a really bad excuse but an excuse nonetheless.

Before he entered he phased the water from his skin and then quickly he flew though the wall and into the grand manor. Danny floated through the foyer and found that the house was in complete darkness; maybe there was a power cut.

"What do you want, Daniel?" a voice spoke.

Danny jumped and spun around trying to find the source and he breathed when he saw Vlad walk out from the shadows as though he'd just formed from them - it was creepy.

"Erm...well...I...was... getting wet...and cold outside, so erm..." Danny shrugged but it sounded more like a question even to his ears so he didn't doubt that Vlad saw through his pathetic confusion. He felt increasing vulnerable under Vlad's scrutinising gaze and he shifted his weight in the air nervously. "Erm...I just...erm...I guess I never really thanked you for..."

"You already did," Vlad interrupted him, "And if it eases your conscience all the more, you may do so again, just don't expect me to listen," he finished and walked back into his sitting room.

"Wow, what's got into you, Mr sunshine?" Danny frowned and floated after the man.

The sitting room was beautifully illuminated by candles and a large fire burned and crackled in the hearth and on sight, Danny forgot the awkwardness he'd just been drowning in as he raced towards the flames. He reached out his hands and felt the warmth comfort his cold bones. Danny still found it strange that he could find comfort in warmth when his powers were based on cold, but he supposed that it was because he was part human still, and humans instinctively sought out the warmth.

When Vlad coughed lightly Danny snapped back up and turned round to face him again; the awkwardness returned full force. "...You fixed my house..." he suddenly remembered.

"Yes, I did, is that all?" Vlad rolled his eyes and sat down on his chair. He then took up a book from a nearby coffee table and opened it.

"Why would you do that?"

"Was I not supposed to?"

"I don't mean..." Danny sighed, "I don't get you at all," he muttered and sat down in front of the fire on the hearth rug.

"That doesn't surprise me in the least," Vlad replied, "You are a child."

"I don't think the world's best psychologists would either."

"Hmm," the older hybrid hummed simply without looking up from his book.

"Y'know...it's weird me being here without is trying to kill each other," Danny mused aloud.

"That's easily arranged," Vlad relied and his eyes shone red in the dark and he leaned forward with a grin.

Danny held up his hands, "No, no, that's fine, really, just chill," he said quickly.

"I do tend to take these things literally, dear boy," Vlad raised an eyebrow as his eyes faded from unnatural red to the dimmer human blue.

"Yeah, no joke," Danny said with a heavy sigh of relief when Vlad leaned back in his chair again. After a brief silence in which Danny tapped his fingers rhythmically against the soft rug he spoke again, "I meant what I said though, Vlad...I really owe you one."

"Then consider that now, and tell me truthfully why you're here," Vlad replied after a minute, closing his book and turning his full attention once more on Danny.

"I...it's...I can't explain it, it's difficult to..." the young hybrid frowned; for how could he explain something to Vlad which he couldn't even explain to himself?

"Try harder," Vlad said tersely.

"I am trying!" Danny exclaimed, "But it's...it's not...it's weird, okay? The whole thing's just weird, and I don't know what to do! I thought we'd keep fighting forever but I told Jazz that I trust you."

"That could prove unwise," Vlad raised an eyebrow and returned his attention to his book.

"Yeah, that's what she said...but I meant it and...it's just strange."

"Well, I expect the novelty will wear off soon, and things will be back to normal before you know it," Vlad shrugged.

"Really?" Danny asked with poorly concealed disappointment, "I don't want that...Do you?" he asked slowly as Vlad's eyes froze on the page he was reading.

"The fact is...that I'm still the same person, Daniel," the older hybrid began, "You may think differently about me now, but it won't last."

"How do you know?" Danny demanded, "And you didn't answer my question."

"Very well, in order; I don't care, and I just know."

"I don't believe it...either of them," the young ghost boy glared. "Why can't you just be honest with me? Why'd you have to make things so difficult?

"I am being honest," Vlad told him with sincerity, "I'm not going to change my ways now - as you frequently point out, I'm too old to do so. And it's been proven many times that because of your morals and my greed, we clash frequently."

"Well, maybe if you didn't steal from people, and plan evil things, we'd get along better!" Danny yelled back. Vlad's aloofness and high-and-mighty manner were beginning to seriously irritate him.

"That is what I just said," Vlad rolled his eyes.

"Why'd you have to be like that anyway?"

"Hasn't your psychologist of a sister told you already? We are what society makes us." the older hybrid answered.

"Then why don't I do those things?" Danny asked, but Vlad didn't answer as he turned a page. "Vlad, are you listening to me?" Danny floated up and across to the man. But before he could say anything further, he was tossed across the room by a blast of green ectoplasm.

Vlad was still sat in the chair as a human, but the force of the attack shocked Danny; he couldn't produce such powerful attacks in human form. "Hey!" Danny cried as he just avoided slamming into a wall. He flew back up and tried to attack Vlad on instinct but the man vanished in a wisp of smoke and Danny was suddenly very worried. "Vlad..." he whispered and then he was thrown around again without warning. Danny fell onto the floor and held up a glowing shield to hold back the attack he anticipated but nothing came.

Vlad had a clear shot; he had teleported above Danny and was floating with crackling energy in his hands but he didn't attack. Instead, he let the entry dissipate and he floated to the ground where he transformed back.

"That's enough, go home," he said heavily.

"Why didn't you attack? You would've won; that's all that used to matter to you, isn't it?" Danny asked as he got up from the floor.

"I'm tired, I'll deal with you in the morning," Vlad sighed and started to walk from the room.

"No...wait!" Danny shot after him as fast a she could and he blocked the doorway in front of Vlad. "Please...just tell me why you're being like this, and I'll go away."

"Get out of my way," Vlad scowled.

"No," Danny refused, "Are you...did I do something wrong...or...are you jealous?" he blinked.

"What?!"

"I bet that's it, isn't it? You only got all moody when I said I was leaving this morning."

"What on earth are you..." Vlad began again.

"You got all snappy...but before that you were fine," the young teen said slowly as the memory became increasingly vivid.

"You're over thinking the issue, Daniel."

"I don't think so," Danny said with a confidence he wasn't completely sure he actually felt even with the vivid memory. "I think you're lonely."

"No," Vlad scoffed and looked away.

"Then what?" the young hybrid frowned, "...You're lying, aren't you?"

"What does it matter?" the man questioned with old bitterness.

"Of course it matters, you fruit-loop!" Danny waved his hands up. He felt like pulling his hair out at Vlad's stubbornness; how was he ever supposed to get through to someone like Vlad? "Didn't we work well together," he asked, trying a different approach, "We got on just fine, didn't we? Maybe we don't have to fight all the time, y'know..."

"You think just because we survived one ordeal together, that everything would change? I told you; I'm still the same person, you still disagree with my goals and my ideas."

"Duh!" Danny held the man's gaze, "Look...point is, Vlad, when it matters we can get along, right? So...why don't we try? No stupid prank wars, no evil schemes...just nothing, okay..."

"I think you're being to optimistic about this," Vlad said, "I'm not going to change who I am, Daniel, get that into your head. I am a ruthless businessman, and I didn't get to the top by 'getting along' with people."

"You're also the only other person who happens to be half ghost..."

"And because of that, you belong by my side," Vlad spoke over him, "You can't deny feeling a sense of isolation among people who do not, and cannot understand what we are, whether they know about us or not. We are a different species from all the other 6 billion people on this planet, and whether you admit it or not, you want to 'get along' because you feel drawn to me."

"I..."

"Just as ghosts with other ghosts, and people to their own are drawn to each other so are half ghosts, as the only one on this planet I could show you so much you could never understand don your own."

"I've heard all this before..." Danny sighed. Vlad spoke the truth though, he did want Vlad's help and his guidance, but it was on principle that he didn't accept. Because the man wanted him to renounce his father which he would not ever do, he couldn't go to Vlad for any kind of help.

"But this has made you think about it more seriously, don't deny it; you are an open book," Vlad replied.

"So go back to your other damn book!" Danny yelled in frustration, "I'm not 'renouncing' my dad or whatever else you want me to do. Why can't we just be friends with me having to do any of that?"

"Because nothing in life is free, everything has a price."

"...What if it doesn't have to be so dumb? What if you could get something in return...but it wasn't that?" Danny asked slowly as the proverbial cogs spun quickly in his head.

"...What are you talking about?" Vlad asked, intrigued. He leaned back against the doorframe, his intent on going searching for deep sleep were now completely obliterated. To the older hybrid, it sounded as though Danny was clutching at straws, but he knew better than to underestimate his young counterpart. Perhaps the boy was giving this some serious thought after all.

"What if...in a way, it was something better..."

"Out with it, child."

"What about just not being alone anymore? Isn't that big enough by itself?" Danny spoke with childlike innocence.

Vlad frowned as Danny's words stuck a long forgotten chord in him; he'd had a similar notion not long after his accident, after it became clear to him that he was well and truly isolated. He'd would've given anything in the world just for some company, it wouldn't have mattered who it was, but after so many years his heart had morphed and hardened into unbreakable stone and he'd ignored the simple things in life he'd once noticed as a young man.

He thought that by being cold and cruel, that his solitary existence wouldn't crush him under the weight of its perpetual silence, but in doing he'd lost what half of his humanity had been left to him whereas Danny had kept it going strong. Danny had never had to deal with 20 years of isolation fuelled only by hatred and anger to keep one going no matter what. Danny always had people around him, be it his friends or his family, the boy hadn't ever been as alone as Vlad. Perhaps in a way he was jealous of the child standing before him; it was a sobering thought.

"Vlad...you still in there?" Danny asked with a weak smile as he waved a gloved, glowing hand in front of Vlad's vacant, blue eyes. "Where'd you get to?" he asked jokingly as the man blinked heavily.

"...Somewhere a very long time ago," Vlad answered quietly.

"Look...you know I love my dad...and I know...you probably won't ever forgive him, but it wasn't like he did it on purpose; he makes mistakes but he means well," Danny began and he was surprised when Vlad didn't snap or shout at him so he decided to continue. "He's my dad and I won't ever give him up, but...you're uncie Vlad, remember?" he shrugged.

"Charming," Vlad said dryly with a raised eyebrow.

"Exactly, and kids aren't supposed to fight with their uncles, it's bad manners is something," Danny said.

"Is that so?"

"Uh-huh," he nodded, "And I know how much you care about being 'well mannered' and all that."

"I was raised to be a gentleman," the older hybrid remarked.

"There," Danny smiled, "See, and a gentleman can't be rude to his favourite nephew, who comes to visit all the time, can he?" he asked and his smile fell when Vlad didn't answer. "...Vlad?" Danny questioned now with a concerned frown.

If Vlad didn't go for this then they would be back to being enemies again, and Danny didn't want that. He was sure it would take time for Vlad to consider him an ally, but in a way, Danny already thought of the older man as his ally. Maybe it was foolish to do so after just one 'ordeal' but it wasn't as though Danny could go back and change the two long years of animosity between them. He stared at Vlad and the man looked as deep in thought as he was, and he couldn't help but wonder what the man was thinking about.

Vlad was stumped. He had no idea what he should do; should he go with the flow and take the chance that they could be allies or be cynical and deny the boy? He didn't know. Years of being realistic and cynical had taken their toll on him and he couldn't help but already envision numerous ways for this to end badly. He knew Danny would soon disapprove of his 'evil' activities and then they would fight because be would refuse to back down and then their little agreement would crumble, making their fight then times worse.

But what, really did he have to lose? His pride? No, this wouldn't damage his pride, not really; true, it would mean going back on a deal he swore he'd never change his price for, but could he live with that? Vlad thought that he could. While, more importantly he would gain Daniel's respect and he would be able to teach the boy about his ghost powers, which was something he'd always wanted to do. Having never had anyone to share his own with or to instruct him all the power Vlad amassed was down to his own determination and research so he didn't hesitate in admitting pride for his achievements. But there was no one, no one at all with whom he could share that with...except for Danny and Danny hadn't wanted him to.

It was because of that, that he'd taken a more brutal approach to training the boy sometimes by attacking him when he least expected it, and even then, because of his anger, his more meaningful aim was usually forgotten. But that wouldn't happen this time, would it?

"Vlad?" Danny repeated.

"I...should point out just how much more difficult you're making things for yourself, Daniel," Vlad replied thoughtfully.

"That's one word for it, I guess," the boy shrugged.

"And what would be another?"

"How 'bout 'better'?" Danny replied.

"How very mawkish of you," Vlad rolled his eyes.

"...Yeah...I think so."

"You don't even know what that words means, do you?"

"Erm...maybe?"

"No you don't."

"No, I don't," Danny agreed.

"What do they teach in school these days?"

"I wouldn't know, I'm hardly there, remember?!" Danny floated up into the air and waved his hands for emphasis.

"That would be because to ghosts, you, my boy, are what is technically termed, a 'pushover'," Vlad grinned, "I don't have many problems at all with them bothering me on a day to day basis."

"You'd probably kill them if they did...if you can actually kill a ghost," Danny said.

"Exactly," Vlad said with pride, "And it's something you need to work on."

"I don't wanna work on 'killing' ghosts."

"Then you'll never get any time for school...or to hold down a job, I might add," Vlad smirked.

"How'd you know about..." the young hybrid trailed off with a frown, "...Ah, never-mind," he sighed at Vlad's amused expression.

As the night passed, Danny found it very easy to forget the fact that they'd once been bitter enemies although he knew he'd have a hard time convincing his friends of this sudden change when it came to it. And before he knew it, the sun was rising and the light shone through the thin opening of the curtains, and he flew back to Fenton Works before Jazz could discover his absence.


	20. Epilogue

**What Unusual Halflives we Lead**

Chapter 20: Epilogue

* * *

><p>Danny Phantom flew high above the clouds and the cool breeze - his only companion, gently stroked his skin and combed his hair as he soared over the Wisconsin forest below. It was now late afternoon and ed been flying for well over three hours already constantly at top speed to reach the castle in which Vlad lived. Of course, it didn't help that he wasn't exactly sure of its location and he didn't have a built in GPS in his ghost powers to help with state lines, but Danny was fairly sure that he was heading in the right direction.<p>

It was now Wednesday, and he hadn't seen Vlad since they'd returned from their victory and all that he'd heard was that he'd had taken a week off and gone to his castle. Danny wouldn't normally take such a risk in flying all the way to Wisconsin, but with his father still in hospital and his mother practically living there with him, it was highly unlikely that they'd notice his absence from home. He'd already told Jazz that he was going out so that she wouldn't worry...he just hadn't mentioned that he was going out to visit Vlad. It was strange to think that he'd spent hours of effort in flying to see his old arch-enemy whom he hadn't even called to see if he was even there first, but the time alone to think wasn't unwelcome.

The afternoon had been a strange one for Danny, because he and Sam had played a basketball rematch against Dash and Kwan and there had been a rather large audience. In the end they'd decided to call it a draw and Danny had purposely put effort into making it so. He knew that whether he an or lost, he'd never hear the end of it, so it was better - meaning there would be less hassle, hopefully, if they never spoke of it again. He didn't want to make a habit of hanging out with Dash.

But that wasn't the only strangeness that had been going on in the last few days, oh no, Danny had also to explain to Sam and Tucker what had happened when he'd disappeared. That had not been fun. Like Jazz, they'd had a difficult time believing that he and Vlad were at some kind of truce...in fact they flat out refused to even contemplate the idea. But they hadn't been through what Danny had, so the young hybrid didn't blame them in the least; it wasn't as though he didn't have his share of disbelief about the truce as well. He was half expecting it to blow up in his face at the first opportunity, but Danny really did want it to work...he just didn't want to expect too much and be disappointed, after all this was Vlad...fruit loop extraordinaire, he was talking about here.

Danny continued his flight and fortunately, a giant castle with garishly topped golden turrets set against the darkening, natural landscape wasn't exactly a hard thing to miss even for a now, tired Danny, and he sighed in relief as he began to descend from the sky. He'd later blame it on his exhaustion, but instead of stopping at the door and knocking, he floated right through the walls and into the castle.

"Vlad?" Danny questioned aloud and floated above the ground. He was kept waiting mere seconds before he heard an amused voice speak from behind him.

"You know, Daniel, if I wasn't so used to your ecto-signature, I could've easily blasted your head off thinking you were an intruder," Vlad said very calmly.

Danny spun around and blinked in confusion when the Vlad he saw wasn't exactly what he'd expected; the man looked as tired as Danny felt and he wasn't wearing his seemingly ever present suit jacket or tie and his whole demeanour displayed a more relaxed attitude rather than his usual superciliousness.

"Nice to see you too," Danny muttered and crossed his arms.

"What are you doing here?" Vlad asked in a no-nonsense time.

"...Oh...y'know..." the young hybrid yawned, "I was just passing by the...erm...the state line..."

"Evidently," Vlad raised an eyebrow, "You look dead on your feet."

"Nice pun," Danny smiled.

"How long did it take for you to fly here?" the man asked, ignoring that Danny had interjected.

"I erm, I lost track after about an hour," Danny shrugged, "What time is it now?"

"Nine thirty."

"Oh...then about three and a half hours...y'know that's not too bad, when you think about how long it takes to drive here...and at least I didn't have to sleep in the Fenton RV with my dad's snoring, and I..."

"What on earth were you thinking?" Vlad asked incredulously, again he seemed to take little interest in what Danny had said.

"...That I'd come by and say 'hey'..." Danny replied, but to him it sounded very much like an uncertain question. "What're you doing here anyway? Isn't the mayor supposed to stay in the city he's running?" he asked defensively.

"I'm still on my vacation," Vlad said, "And of course, I'm recovering from the devastating loss of my chalet," he added sarcastically.

"About that...didn't you tell people you were going there for your little trip thing when we did the whole 'tactical retreat' thing?"

"Yes, well remembered, Daniel, people were told that I was obviously not in the premises when it exploded," Vlad answered and Danny chose to overlook the jab at his memory.

"Just weasel out of another one..." Danny muttered, it really irritated him how the man just had an answer for everything, all the time, every time. "It really was too had about the chalet though," he mused.

"It can be replaced," Vlad shrugged carelessly.

"I bet you could buy like a hundred of 'em, couldn't ya?"

"And more besides," the man said simply. He'd been overly wealthy for too long and so he'd gotten used to the mindset that money could buy him (almost) anything, without even questioning it anymore.

"Rich jerk," Danny muttered.

"Well, this 'rich jerk' is still paying your parents hospital bills, so you'll want to stay on my good side."

"Oh...yeah, good point... " the younger hybrid frowned.

Danny hated to think about the bills piling up as well that he couldn't pay anything towards because he still couldn't hold down a job. His parents didn't exactly make much when they actually managed to sell some of their inventions and they were in financial trouble after all. Now that he had the time to think about all of it, it only depressed him..and then there were people like Vlad, who never had to worry about those things and who just loved to rub it in everyone's faces. "About that...I'm still waiting for the catch," Danny said.

"I've told you," Vlad sighed, "There is no catch," he rolled his eyes and sat down in one of the grand arm chairs by the fireplace, which he lit with bright, ghostly lightning from his hand and it ignited immediately.

Danny stared at the ghostly flames which devoured the logs in the grate, hungrily, "...Cool..." he said to himself. The flames were hypnotic in that they flickered from normal yellow to ghostly purple and beautiful hues of pale blue, and the fire even hissed in a way more strange than was usual. It surprisingly created a lot of light in the otherwise dark room and Danny looked around, but his eyes settled across at the wall which he'd been flung through in their fight, looking brand new. "Not gonna throw me through the wall again, are you?" he asked.

"We'll see," Vlad replied sarcastically.

"Great," Danny rolled his eyes, "Just so you know, I don't think my back could deal with that again."

"Duly noted."

"...You'd do it again just for laughs, wouldn't you?"

"Most likely," Vlad said dryly.

"Fantastic," Danny sighed and flopped down onto the carpet in front of the fire. Not only was he tired from flying for hours non-stop, he had already been tired out from the long basketball game so now all his muscles were aching; perhaps it hadn't been the best idea to fly all the way to Wisconsin but Danny had wanted to see how the truce was standing with Vlad. It seemed as though Vlad was trying to be nice, however frustrating and sarcastic he naturally was, and for that, Danny was glad. He'd also wanted a break from Sam and Tucker and Jazz constantly questioning his decision about said truce because it'd really started to drive him insane.

"If you wanted to irritate me, you could've done so easily over the phone," Vlad said.

"I'm not irritating you...am I?" the young hybrid asked looking up, but Vlad didn't answer. "Well I'm not trying to," Danny added after a minute, "I just needed...some space, okay?"

Vlad was tempted to ask from what Danny would want space, but he settled for simply raising an eyebrow. "My friends think I'm crazy for trusting you," Danny explained to him.

"It is a rather large risk," Vlad said.

"Maybe," Danny shrugged.

"This could merely be another plan of mine."

"Maybe," Danny repeated nonchalantly.

"You're too trusting for your own good; it's going to wind you in a lot of trouble one day," Vlad frowned.

"Meh," the young hybrid closed his eyes. He liked that he could discus this with Vlad and he wasn't surprised to hear that the man was second guessing their truce, but Danny was hopeful that it would work out. After all, he really didn't want to go back to fighting with Vlad again, so this had to work out.

It seemed to Danny that hours passed by in silence, but in reality it was only a few minutes later when Vlad spoke again. "It's late, Daniel, you should go home," he sighed, "Come back another time, if you must," he added much to Danny's amusement.

"...It'll take me another four hours to get back...you could show me how to teleport, right?" Danny suggested eagerly and Vlad chuckled.

"Nice try, but why would I do that when I have no assurance that this little truce of yours will last? It would be a terrible idea for me to give lessons to my arch-enemy, after all," the man said.

"Party pooper," the young boy muttered in disappointment.

"I'm not stopping you from learning it yourself."

"I don't know how to!" Danny huffed.

"Neither did I," Vlad shrugged. Granted it had taken him over ten years to first develop the power and another year after that to master it, but he'd done it by himself with absolutely no help whatsoever.

"Well, I guess I'll just fly back then...all the way back...by myself..." Danny said pointedly and Vlad rolled his eyes.

The older hybrid then morphed into his ghost half and teleported over to Danny, "Pay attention," he ordered the boy before he spun his cape and turned them both into glowing smoke.

Danny shivered as he felt them travel the considerable distance which had taken him almost four hours earlier that afternoon, now took less than four seconds by teleporting. As ever it felt like he was being pulled in every direction, like he had strings attached and someone was tugging on them relentlessly over and over again. And it seemed as though it took only the blink of an eye; it was very disorientating.

"Whoa!" Danny held his head and fell onto the floor and looked around, recognising his bedroom immediately. "Nice one," he muttered.

"Did you notice anything?" Vlad asked him.

"Yeah," Danny nodded once he could see straight again.

"What?"

"I need a magic cape," the boy answered with seriousness and Vlad sighed.

"No," he said.

"No?" Danny repeated.

"The cape is a focus, not magic," Vlad scowled.

"Bummer," the young hybrid sighed, "So how'd you do it then? And what's with the smoke?"

"The smoke is me," Vlad told him.

"Huh? How can you be smoke?"

"You can change the proportions of your body can't you? It's the same basic principle."

"I've never been...smoke...before..." Danny said in confusion. He could remember when he'd made his arms stretch or his torso extra bendy to avoid attacks but he'd never turned his whole body into smoke, ever.

"Then figure out how to be...goodnight Daniel," Vlad said simply and teleported away again, leaving Danny alone.

"Hey! That's so not helpful!" Danny yelled a second later, "Fruit loop," he muttered and sighed as he flopped down onto his bed. Despite how tired he was, he didn't get a wink of sleep because he was kept up all night thinking about what Vlad had said. And in the morning, he still didn't understand anything...it would take him a while to figure it out.


End file.
